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■ ,  'wi?^Jf^'S 

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KS 


IvIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 

Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALSWORTH. 

Received  October,  1894. 
^Accessions  No .  !^y^30 '      ^^^^^  ^0, 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  witii  funding  from 

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littp://www.arcliive.org/details/discoursescliargeOOpottricli 


BISHOP  POTTER'S  DISCOURSES, 

ETC. 


■DISCOUllSES, 


CHARaES,  ADDRESSES, 


# 


PASTORAL  LETTERS, 


etc!  etc! 


BT 


ALONZO  POTTEE,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

BISHOP    OF    THE    DIOCESE    OF   PENNSYLVANIA. 


^^>  Of  lafe  ' '  <^-'^ 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PUBLISHED  BY  E.  H.  BUTLER  &  CO. 

18  58. 


-P4 


^^, 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1858, 

BY   E.    H.   BUTLER   &    CO., 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania. 


f 


This  volume  is  composed  of  Charges,  Dis- 
courses, Addresses,  and  Pastoral  Letters,  which 
have  been  prepared  by  the  author,  in  the  course 
of  his  official  duties  during  the  last  thirteen  years. 
With  one  exception,  they  have  been  printed  al- 
ready. They  are  now  collected  and  reprinted 
for  more  convenient  reference,  and  in  the  hope 
that  they  may  possibly  prove  useful  to  some,  to 
whom  they  were  not  at  first  addressed.  In  ar- 
ranging them,  the  author  has  beguiled  some  hours 
of  lassitude  and  sickness,  which  could  not  be 
given  to  more  active  duties ;  and  he  now  commits 
them  to  the  indulgence  of  his  friends,  and  the 
candid  consideration  of  the  public.  Should  he 
speak  no  more  through  the  press  or  with  the 
living  voice,  in  this  volume  may  be  found  his 
settled  opinions  upon  many  topics  connected  with 
the  interests  of  the  clerical  profession,  the  exten- 
sion of  the  Christian  Church,  and  the  welfare  of 
society. 


\ 


'% 


CONTENTS. 


The  Position  of  the  Clergy, 

The  Christian  Minister  a  Student, 

The  Studies  of  the  Clergy, 

Holy  Scripture, 

Ten  Years  Reviewed, 

The  Christian  Bishop, 

Character  of  Bishop  White, 

Our  Country  Admonished, 

National  Accountability,  , 

Plea  for  Sailors, 

Drinking  Usages,  . 

Sunday-Schools, 

Spreading  the  Gospel, 

Appendix  : 

I.  Candidates  for  the  Ministry, 
II.  Primitive  Deacons, 

III.  Religious  Training — Confirmations, 

IV.  Church  and  Other  Schools, 
V.  Convocations, 

VI.  Support  of  the  Clergy,     , 
VII.  Instability  of  the  Pastoral  Relation, 
VIII.  Lay  Co-operation, 

IX.  Diocesan  Missions,  etc., 
X.  Church  Buildings  and  Services,  . 

XI.  Aggressive  Work  of  the  Church, 
XII.  Church  Charities, 

XIII.  Perversions  to  Rome, 

XIV.  Notice  of  General  Conventions, 


PAOB 

47 
77 
105 
135 
161 
201 
211 
229 
247 
271 
299 
327 

349 
360 
365 
372 
378 
380 
389 
399 
401 
407 
411 
423 
434 
443 


THE  POSITION  OF  THE  CLEEGY. 


PEIMAEY  CHAEGE  * 


My  Brethren  of  the  Clergy: 

Among  the  duties  imposed  by  the  Church  on  her 
Bishops  in  this  country,  is  the  grave  and  responsible 
one  of  addressing  a  Charge,  as  often  as  once  in  three 
years,  to  the  Clergy  within  their  jurisdiction.  I  have 
delayed  entering  on  this  duty,  somewhat  beyond  the 
period  fixed  by  the  Canon,t  partly  because  of  other 
urgent  duties,  but  more  especially  because  I  have  de- 
sired that,  when  once  begun,  it  might  be  prosecuted 
at  intervals  less  rare  than  the  Canon  seems  to  con- 
template, and  with  some  degree  of  method. 

It  is  my  purpose  now,  should  life  and  ability  be 
given,  to  offer  to  you,  from  year  to  year,  a  series  of 
connected  counsels  on  some  of  the  most  momentous 
of  our  common  duties  as  Ministers  of  Christ.  Waiv- 
ing topics  of  a  more  transient  nature,  I  propose  to 
bring  before  you  a  few  of  the  great  principles,  which 
ought,  as  it  seems  to  me,  always  to  be  kept  in  view, 
while  we  labor  at  the  twofold  work  assigned  us  by 
God,  of  saving  ourselves  and  saving  them  that  hear 
us ;  and  I  shall  endeavor,  while  presenting  these  prin- 

*  Delivered  May  16,  1849.        '    f  Canon  XXVII  of  1832. 


14  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

ciples,  to  indicate  how  they  ought  to  be  modified  in 
practice,  according  to  the  state  of  the  world  at  large, 
and  especially  according  to  the  condition  of  our  own 
country  and  Church. 

The  great  secret  of  all  ministerial  usefulness  must 
be  found,  I  conceive,  in  ministerial  self-culture — in 
the  careful  cultivation,  with  the  aid  of  God's  grace, 
of  our  whole  nature — spiritual,  moral,  intellectual, 
and  corporeal.  We  work  on  others  mainly  through 
the  personal  endowments  which  we  have  received 
from  Heaven,  or  which  we  have  acquired  by  culture. 
Even  those  divine  and  supernatural  truths  and  offices 
which  we  dispense  to  men,  must  reach  their  great  end, 
for  the  most  part,  through  our  zeal,  our  integrity, 
and  our  wisdom.  The  word  preached,  for  example, 
is  it  not  usually  effectual  in  proportion  to  the  clear- 
ness, the  fervor,  and  the  logical  power  of  those  who 
preach  it  ?  The  prayers  offered — do  they  not  bear 
the  hearts  and  consciences  of  the  people  towards 
Heaven,  according  as  the  Minister's  own  heart  is 
exalted  by  faith,  warmed  with  love,  subdued  by  peni- 
tence ?  So  the  sacraments  administered  become 
channels  of  grace  to  the  souls  of  men,  in  proportion 
as  those  souls  have  been  previously  touched  through 
faithful  appeals  and  instructions  from  the  Pastor,  and 
in  proportion,  too,  as  these  holy  mysteries  are  dis- 
pensed in  a  reverential  and  edifying  manner.  No 
matter,  indeed,  what  be  the  mean  of  grace — be  it 
truth  or  sacrament — be  it  prayer  or  thanksgiving — 
be  it  fasting  or  alms,  it  will  be  apt  to  prove  all  but 
powerless,  if  its  significancy  be  obscured,  or  its  grand 
aim  decried,  by  the  evil  example  of  him  who  is  its 
appointed  Minister.     The  Spirit  of  God  acts  on  men 


OUR  POSITION.  15 

in  good  part  through  his  anointed  Ambassadors  ; 
and  He  acts  therefore  feebly,  if  those  Ambassadors 
interpose  between  his  grace  and  the  souls  that  he 
would  visit,  their  own  ignorance,  levity,  or  impiety. 
He  rarely  acts  at  all,  if  they  are  morally  reckless,  or 
corrupt.  The  great  law,  which  makes  thought  and 
emotion  in  those  who  speak,  the  condition  of  awaken- 
ing kindred  thoughts  and  emotions  in  those  who  hear, 
is  not  annulled  by  the  supernatural  grace  of  the  Gos- 
pel. On  the  contrary,  the  renewing  and  saving  ener- 
gies of  the  Holy  Ghost  so  concur  with  the  natural 
powers  of  its  earthly  Minister,  that  whether  in  moving 
others  or  in  rousing  himself  to  duty,  that  Minister 
must  work — must  work  with  all  his  heart  and  strength, 
and  must  never  forget  that  he  who  would  be  a  bless- 
ing to  others  is  to  begin  by  winning  spiritual  blessings 
for  himself. 

The  improvement  of  the  people,  then,  is  conditioned 
on  the  improvement  of  the  Clergy.  All  the  world 
over,  and  through  all  time,  the  state  of  the  Church 
reflects,  in  a  great  degree,  the  state  and  character  of 
her  Ministers.  Make  the  one  more  wise,  laborious, 
and  earnest,  and  you  cause  the  other  to  be  more  given 
to  every  good  word  and  work.  So  in  respect  to  any 
congregation ;  we  can  hardly  pray  more  devoutly  and 
fervently  in  our  closets — we  can  hardly  watch  more 
carefully  over  our  own  hearts,  or  ply  more  diligently 
our  studies  at  home  and  our  labors  abroad  even  for  a 
few  months,  but  God  will  vouchsafe  us  some  sign* 

■^  If  God  suffers  even  a  holy  pastor  not  presently  to  see  the 
fruits  of  his  labors,  it  is  to  convince  him  that  the  success  of  his 
labors  belongs  to  God  ; — and  he  ought  to  humble  himself,  and 
pray  much,  and  fear  lest  the  fault  should  be  in  himself. — Bishop 
WilsoTiy  Sacra  Frivata,  p.  103. 


16  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

that  our  prayers  are  remembered  in  Heaven,  and  our 
generous  self-sacrifice  made  honorable  on  earth.  And 
to  what  purpose,  as  Ministers,  do  we  live,  if  this  be 
not  always  our  aim  ?  We  open  our  churches — not 
merely  that  the  seats  may  be  filled, — not  merely  that 
confiding  and  admiring  throngs  may  be  gathered  to 
hear  us,  but  that  the  people  may  give  heed  to  the 
word  spoken.  We  open  them  that  there  may  be  an 
active,  an  ever-extending  and  an  ever-progressive 
piety — extending,  that  new  hearts  may  be  reached — 
progressive,  that  all  may  advance  in  religious  know- 
ledge and  in  personal  holiness. 

Ministerial  self-culture  therefore,  in  all  its  branches, 
is  the  subject  to  which  I  would  ask  your  attention — 
comprehending  within  this  term  whatever  can  con- 
tribute to  a  clergyman's  improvement,  and  keeping 
steadily  in  view  the  great  truth,  that  it  is  through 
such  culture,  constantly  maintained  and  pressed  for- 
ward, that  we  are  to  win  at  last  from  our  Master's 
hand — for  ourselves,  a  worthy  crown — for  our  people, 
an  abundant  entrance  into  his  kingdom  and  glory. 

As  preliminary,  however,  to  this  subject,  there  is 
another  which  demands  a  brief  discussion,  and  that  is 
the  precise  'position  which  a  Christian  minister  now 
occupies  in  this  land  and  in  our  communion.  Every 
profession  has  its  own  peculiar  advantages  and  dis- 
advantages, and  by  those  who  embrace  it,  these  should 
evidently  be  well  understood  and  well  considered. 
Again,  the  different  positions  in  a  profession,  whether 
we  consider  it  in  respect  to  time,  or  in  respect  to 
place,  or  in  respect  to  other  circumstances,  will  have 
each  its  distinguishing  characteristics;  and  it  is  plain 
that  these  too  should  be  carefully  studied,  if  we  would 


OUR  POSITION.  17 

make  the  most  of  our  powers  and  opportunities. 
And  then,  again,  each  individual  clergyman  has  his 
idiosyncrasy  from  nature,  and  his  peculiarities — cor- 
poreal, mental,  and  spiritual,  superinduced  by  educa- 
tion and  by  habit,  and  it  becomes  him  to  remember 
and  appreciate  these  also,  if  he  would  be  a  workman 
that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed.  Self-knowledge  is 
the  one  grand  condition  of  self-culture,  and  that  alone 
is  self-knowledge  which  combines,  with  a  correct  appre- 
ciation of  our  personal  character  and  capacities,  a 
just  estimate  of  our  position — 
I.  As  ministers. 
11.  As  ministers  of  religion. 

III.  As  ministers  of  the  religion  of  Christ. 

IV.  As  ministers  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church. 

V.  As  ministers  of  this  Church,  in  the  nineteenth 
century. 

YI.  As  ministers  of  this  Church,  and  of  this  cen- 
tury, in  the  United  States  of  America. 

I.  We  should  understand  our  position  as  Ministers, 
«.  e.  as  officers,  stewards  who  are  clothed  with  a  dele- 
gated trust,  so  that  we  act  not  merely  for  ourselves, 
but  for  others  also.  We  have  a  twofold  character, 
the  one  personal — the  other  official,  and  of  course 
we  have  a  twofold  responsibility.  We  ai:e  to  take 
heed  to  ourselves  ;  we  are  to  take  heed  to  those  over 
whom  we  are  overseers.  For  the  present,  I  put  the 
religious  character  of  our  office  out  of  the  account. 
I  call  your  attention  to  the  simple  fact  that  we  are 
not  only  men,  but  officers.  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  be 
a  man — for  to  man  alone,  of  all  the  living  multitudes 
that  roam  over  land,  or  that  swarm  through  air,  and 

a* 


18^  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

stream,  and  sea — to  man  alone  attaches  responsi- 
bility— a  sense  of  accountability  within,  which  is  but 
the  faint  echo  (as  he  well  knows)  of  a  yet  graver  ac- 
countability without.  To  man  alone,  belong  powers 
capable  of  an  endless  and  sublime  progression, — 
powers  which  he  cannot  employ  aright,  without  un- 
speakable benefit  to  others  and  to  himself, — powers 
"which  he  cannot  misemploy,  without  unknown  but 
deplorable  ills  alike  to  his  neighbor  and  his  own 
soul.  Social  always,  always  active,  always  responsi- 
ble, it  is  indeed  a  fearful  thing  to  be  a  man. 

How  much  more  fearful  to  be  not  a  man  only,  but 
to  be  at  one  and  the  same  time  a  man  and  a  minister  ; 
to  have  intrusted  to  us  not  only  our  own  welfare,  but 
the  welfare  of  others  also— to  have  it  intrusted  to 
us,  too,  in  a  representative  capacity,  so  that  in  respect 
to  many,  very  many  perhaps  of  those  around  us,  we 
act  for  them,  we  act  through  them,  we  act  upon  them, 
not  merely  in  virtue  of  the  social  ties  that  bind  each 
to  the  other  and  all  to  us  ; — we  apply  to  them  the 
different  and  the  higher  agency,  which  belongs  to  us 
as  trustees  at  once  of  an  earthly  power,  and  of  a 
heavenly  Sovereign.  In  the  course  of  ten  or  twenty 
years,  what  a  number,  brethren,  of  our  fellow  beings, 
within  and  without  our  own  congregations — within 
and  without  our  own  communion,  too,  must  come  di- 
rectly or  indirectly,  under  our  official  influence ;  and 
each  one  of  these,  remember,  carries  through  all  his 
mortal  sojourn,  and  into  the  very  presence  of  his  Judge 
at  last,  some  trace — some  tint  of  light  or  hue  of  dark- 
ness— that  we,  because  of  our  official  authority,  have 
cast  perhaps  unwittingly  upon  him.  Is  it  fearful  to 
be  a  man  then, — how  much  more  fearful  to  be  both  a 


OUR   POSITION.  19 

man  and  a  minister,  and  to  be,  as  in  our  case,  minis- 
ters as  well  as  men  for  life  ;  to  bear  upon  us  a  com- 
mission which  may  never  be  revoked,  which  always 
charges  us  with  work  to  do,  and  which  confers  dignity, 
and  exempts  from  punishment  only  as  that  work  is 
done  with  our  might,  so  that  to  whatever  of  official 
duty  we  are  at  any  time  equal,  to  so  much  of  official 
duty  we  are  then  commanded.  There  is  no  discharge 
in  this  war.  To  he  faithful  soldiers  and  servants^ 
unto  our  life's  end — always  to  give  our  faithful  dili- 
gence in  the  work  of  our  ministry^  and  in  framing 
and  fashioning  our  own  selves  and  our  families  so  as 
to  make  both  wholesome  examples  to  the  flock,  these  are 
the  terms  of  our  enrolment  in  the  sacramental  host. 
Our  weakness,  then,  as  well  as  our  strength — our  age 
as  well  as  our  youth,  are  to  be  given  to  our  work. 
He  that  hath  much,  let  him  give  plenteously ;  he  that 
hath  little,  let  him  do  his  diligence  gladly  to  give  of 
that  little,  for  so  shall  he  gather  to  hilnself  a  good 
reward  in  the  day  of  his  necessity. 

II.  But  we  are  to  understand,  again,  that  we  are 
Ministers  of  Religion.  In  one  sense,  whoever 
holds  an  office,  intended  to  promote  human  welfare, 
may  be  called  a  Minister  of  God ;  since  some  purpose 
of  God  is  to  be  promoted  through  his  official  and  proper 
agency.  But  we  are  God's  Ministers  in  a  sense  more 
specific,  and  far  more  sacred  ;  since  to  us  have  been 
committed  the  interests  of  his  religion.  The  recogni- 
tion and  worship  of  some  superior  Power,  invisible — 
yet  present  and  supreme,  is  the  dictate  of  Nature  as 
well  as  the  command  of  Revelation.  Everywhere, 
and  in  all  ages,  man's  heart  has  yearned  after  the 
unseen  God,  and  has  trembled  before  his  anticipated 


20  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARaES. 

judgments.  Everywhere,  too,  this  spiritual  or  reli- 
gious element  in  our  existence  is  felt  to  be  paramount 
in  dignity  and  importance ;  so  that  they  who  stand 
forth  before  men,  as  its  representatives  and  Ministers, 
are  held  to  be  the  special  Ambassadors  of  Heaven, 
and  to  bear  about  them  a  peculiar  sacredness. 

In  some  lands,  and  at  some  periods,  this  sacerdotal 
office,  through  a  misguided  reverence,  has  been  allowed 
to  supersede  or  to  swallow  up  all  others ;  so  that  a 
corps,  perhaps  a  caste"^  of  well-disciplined  and  un- 
scrupulous priests,  alike  jealous  and  tyrannical,  have 
taken  to  themselves  the  entire  government  of  society, 
civil  no  less  than  sacred.  It  was  thus  in  ancient 
India  and  Egypt,  and  to  some  extent  it  was  thus,  too, 
in  Mediaeval  Europe — the  office  being  debased  and 
ultimately  weakened  by  the  very  means  which  were 
taken  to  strengthen  it.  At  other  times,  or  in  other 
lands,  the  theocratical  power  in  the  state  has  been 
content  to  yield  a  nominal  precedence  to  monarchy, 
to  aristocracy,  or  even  to  democracy,  provided,  how- 
ever, that  these  last  would  constitute  themselves  its 
nursing  fathers,  and  would  at  the  same  time,  profess 
to  receive  from  it  (in  whole  or  in  part)  as  a  gracious 
boon,  their  right  to  reign.  Again — and  through  how 
long  a  period  even  of  Christian  history  do  we  find  the 
temporal  and  the  spiritual  authority  engaged — now 
in  an  ignoble  contest  for  civil  supremacy, — now  in 
a  league,  not  less  ignoble,  to  trample  down  the  liberties 
of  the  people,  and  to  build  up  a  twofold  despotism — 

*  In  the  latter  case  the  office  is  hereditary ;  in  the  former  it 
is  elective.  The  distinction  is  fraught  with  most  important  con- 
sequences, some  of  which  are  noticed  in  Guizot's  Modern  Civil- 
ization,  Lecture  3d. 


OUR   POSITION.  '  21 

the  one  over  opinion,  the  other  over  will  and  act.  At 
one  period,  all  without  the  Church  being  ignorance 
and  anarchy,  ecclesiastics  became  the  master-spirits 
of  the  time,  and  priestcraft  was  too  often  but  another 
name  for  almost  all  government.  At  another,  royalty 
being  needed  to  centralize  interests  hitherto  separate, 
and  to  harmonize  discordant  powers,  the  crosier 
was  compelled  to  succumb  before  the  sceptre,  and  the 
edicts  of  a  king  became  supreme,  even  in  matters  that 
touched  only  the  Church's  faith,  discipline,  or  worship. 

How  large  a  share  of  the  world's  history,  both  an- 
cient and  modern,  is  occupied  with  these  multiform 
and  often  stormy  •  attempts  to  adjust  the  social  and 
legal  positions  of  the  ministers  of  religion,  to  their 
true  character  and  functions  !  And  what  does  that  his- 
tory prove  ?  It  proves,  in  the  first  place,  how  firm  and 
unyielding  is  the  hold  on  the  human  mind  of  religion 
and  its  Ministers  ;  since  no  violence  from  without, 
though  all  the  other  powers  of  society  be  leagued 
against  it, — no  errors  or  corruptions  from  within,  be 
they  ever  so  flagrant,  have  sufficed  for  its  destruc- 
tion. Cast  down,  and  to  all  appearance  destroyed 
to-day,  religion  rises  with  renewed  and  resistless  vigor 
to-morrow.  This  same  history  teaches,  too,  that 
when  different  forms  of  religion  come  into  conflict,  all 
must  at  length  yield  before  that  which  springs  from 
the  simple  and  positive  command  of  God.  Never, 
for  instance,  in  ancient  times,  did  Judaism  and  Pagan- 
ism meet  in  fair  and  open  field,  that  it  was  not  soon 
seen  how  powerless  are  the  inventions  of  man,  when 
arrayed  against  the  teachings  and  institutions  of  the 
Most  High. 

But  the  lesson  which  I  would  especially  commend 


22  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

to  your  notice,  as  deducible  from  the  religious  history 
of  the  past,  is,  that  the  Ministers  of  God  never  go 
forth  in  the  simple  majesty  of  truth — cementing  no 
alliance  with  thrones — courting  no  friendship  with  the 
world,  that  they  do  not  quickly  triumph.  How  was 
it  in  the  first  centuries  of  our  own  era,  when  the 
Missionaries  of  God's  last  dispensation  to  man — 
though  few  in  number  and  humble  in  rank — had  to 
encounter  a  world  in  arms  ?  Strange,  that  the  fact 
then  made  manifest,  was  so  soon  forgotten.  Strange 
that  men  who  had  filled  the  earth  with  their  doctrine 
— men  who  with  no  help,  except  from  God  and  their 
own  brave  hearts,  had  won  to  their  standard  the  talent, 
the  learning,  and  the  wealth  that  rule  mankind — 
strange,  indeed,  that  they  should  have  superseded  so 
soon  the  simple  instruments  of  such  a  victory,  by  cor- 
rupting alliances  with  unhallowed  passion  and  with 
worldly  power.  But  so  it  is.  From  the  reign  of 
Constantino  down  to  the  landing  of  our  fathers  at 
Jamestown  and  at  Plymouth,  through  more  than  a 
thousand  years  of  strife,  and  toil,  and  bloodshed,  even 
Christian  Europe  was  slowly  working  its  way  towards 
that  truth,  which  to  us  seems  written  as  with  a  sun- 
beam on  all  the  teachings  of  Christ,  and  on  the  tri- 
umphant mission  of  his  evangelists.  That  the  Minis- 
ters of  religion  are  Ministers  of  religion ;  that  their 
functions  are  simply  spiritual — that  on  the  one  hand 
they  have  no  concern  (except  as  they  act  on  the  great 
fountains  of  human  opinion)  with  civil  legislation, 
and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  that  legislation  has 
no  authority  over  them,  except  as  they  are  men  and 
citizens, — that  the  Church  and  the  State  are  indepen- 
dent but  co-ordinate  powers,  the  one  having  cogni- 


OUR   POSITION.  28 

zance  of  things  temporal,  the  other  of  things  spiritual 
— and  that  the  one  only  appropriate  weapon  of  God's 
Ambassadors  is  Truth — truth  in  doctrine  and  truth  in 
life — truth  warning  every  man,  truth  teaching  every 
man,  truth  rebuking  every  man,  with  all  long-suffer- 
ing, and  yet  with  all  authority — this  is  a  principle 
which  may  be  familiar  to  us  as  household  words,  but 
which  to  the  world  at  large,  and  even  to  Christendom 
itself  was  long  unknown,  and  which  at  this  very  hour 
is  to  most  of  Christendom  but  imperfectly  unfolded. 
And  is  this  our  province  ?  Is  it  religion,  as  contra- 
distinguished from  all  the  arts  and  professions  of  civil 
life,  and  from  all  the  functions  of  civil  government  ? 
It  is  religion,  too,  as  an  all-comprehending  and  all- 
pervading  power — one  that  can  penetrate,  hallow,  and 
bind  together  the  humblest  and  the  highest  interests. 
Hence  nothing  is  beneath  his  notice  or  sympathy, 
who  is  wise  to  win  souls.  Does  he  look  for  example 
on  industry,  on  the  arts  that  sustain  and  gladden  our 
material  life  ? — He  can  see  there  a  power,  which  pro- 
perly directed  must  contribute  beyond  measure  even 
to  man's  intellectual  and  moral  elevation  ;  and  hence 
as  a  minister  of  God,  he  would,  in  his  appropriate 
sphere,  and  by  appropriate  means,  at  once  promote 
and  sanctify  those  arts.  Does  he  look  again  on 
science  and  literature,  with  their  handmaids  the  press 
and  general  education  ? — There,  too,  he  sees  forces, 
mighty  for  good,  if  wisely  controlled,  but  almost 
omnipotent  for  evil,  if  loosed  from  the  sovereignty 
of  conscience  and  the  fear  of  God ;  and  hence  he 
would  pour  into  these  well-springs  of  the  world's 
hope  salt  from  on  high.  Or  does  he  turn  to  the  phi- 
lanthropic movements  of  our  own  time — movements 


24  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

that  would  smooth  one  and  another  visage  of  human 
woe,  and  spread  over  earth  the  sunshine  of  a  higher 
and  more  joyous  life  ? — These  the  minister  of  God 
would  keep  from  perversion  and  from  decay,  hy  in- 
fusing into  them  the  divine  life  of  faith,  and  impos- 
ing on  them  the  holy  restraints  of  law.  He  knows 
that  the  Cross  won  its  most  memorable  victories  over 
the  hearts  of  men,  when  its  apostles  were  most  intent 
on  assuaging  human  sufferings,  and  on  subserving 
even  here  on  earth  the  utmost  happiness  of  all.  And 
in  all  past  time,  it  has  been  the  glory  of  that  Cross, 
that  its  heralds  have  gone  through  the  world  as  the 
leaders  of  a  true  civilization,  no  less  than  as  the 
leaders  of  a  true  faith.  Even  when  the  bands  of 
society  were  loosed  amid  the  darkness  and  chaos  of 
the  middle  ages ;  when  the  clergy  had  become  in- 
vested, through  the  force  of  circumstances,  with  too 
much  of  worldly  supremacy,  and  were  devoted  too  ex- 
clusively to  the  interests  of  their  own  order,  even  then 
they  were  the  world's  best  temporal  benefactors.  But 
for  them,  Europe  must  have  fallen  back,  during  that 
awful  period,  into  the  barbarism  of  her  Vandal  in- 
vaders. It  was  in  their  monastic  retreats,  that  the 
almost  extinguished  fires  of  learning  were  kept  alive 
with  pious  care ;  and  that  all  the  arts  of  peace  were 
fostered  with  a  wisdom  and  munificence  worthy  of  un- 
dying remembrance.*  Never  be  it  otherwise.  When 
we  strike  at  the  ignorance  and  corruption  of  men,  we 
strike  at  the  great  root  of  all  social  evils :  and  when 
we  labor  to  regenerate  the  spirit  of  society,  we  are 

*  Henry's  History  of  England  contains  valuable  notices  of  the 
agency  of  the  Mediaeval  Clergy  in  promoting  Agriculture,  Horti- 
culture, and  various  mechanical  arts. 


OUR   POSITION.  25 

then  laboring  most  effectually  for  the  regeneration  of 
its  forms  and  institutions.  But  let  our  labors  be 
guided  by  an  enlarged  and  enlightened  spirit.  What- 
ever makes  man  more  thoughtful,  forecasting,  or  even 
more  decorous,  makes  him  more  open  also  to  the  ap- 
peals W3f  religious  truth.  Hence,  though  divorced 
from  all  the  employments  and  dignities  of  the  world, 
we  should  still  bid  God  speed  to  whatever  can  lift  our 
race  to  more  of  physical  comfort,  or  to  more  of  intel- 
lectual and  moral  dignity.  We  should  cling  to  our 
spiritual  functions,  and  thank  God  that  we  are  neither 
burdened  with  the  cares,  nor  perilled  by  the  fascina- 
tions of  earthly  power ;  but  we  should  be  known,  at 
the  same  time,  as  the  friends  of  a  comprehensive  and 
true-hearted  philanthropy.  Our  ear  should  be  quick 
to  hear  the  wail  of  the  oppressed ;  our  eye  should  be 
clear  to  discern  the  iron  that  enters  into  a  brother's 
soul;  our  heart  should  beat  in  ready  and  respon- 
sive throbs  to  every  pulsation  of  bleeding  humanity. 
Never  may  the  cause  of  charity  and  true  brotherhood 
be  monopolized  by  men,  who  think  to  bless  the  world 
without  glorifying  God.  As  charity  must  be  spurious, 
where  there  is  no  faith,  so  faith  will  be  but  as  sound- 
ing brass  and  tinkling  cymbal  unless  it  bring  forth 
the  fruits  of  a  large-hearted  love  for  mankind.  Let 
the  power  and  worth  of  our  ministry  be  seen  then,  as 
in  earlier  days,  in  the  broad  sympathies  with  which 
it  animates  our  studies  and  our  labors.  That  day,  in 
which  the  clergy  cease  to  be  amongst  the  foremost  in 
efforts  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  mankind,  will  be 
a  day  dark  indeed  for  the  prospects  of  the  world — 
nor  of  the  world  alone.  The  Church  itself  must  suffer 
in  the  same  proportion,  since  she  can  truly  prosper, 

3 


26  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

under  the  smiles  of  her  Great  Head,  only  when  she 
fulfils  her  mission  as  His  Minister  for  good  to  men. 

III.  But  we  are  not  only  ministers  of  religion  ;  we 
are  ministers  of  the  religion  of  Christ.  Ours  is 
not  a  religion  of  types  and  prophecies  like  that  of 
Israel ;  nor  is  it  an  engine  of  state  like  that  of 
ancient  Rome;  nor  is* it  tributary  to  a  refined  but 
voluptuous  taste  like  that  of  ancient  Greece.  It  is 
neither  encumbered  and  made  oppressive  through 
ceremonies,  like  the  law  of  ordinances ;  nor  is  it 
destitute  of  all  positive  institutions  and  precepts, 
like  the  religion  of  nature.  It  reveals  to  us  the 
Word  made  Fleshy  and,  in  thus  bridging  over  the 
mighty  void  between  the  human  and  the  Divine,  it 
lays  the  axe  to  the  root  of  Deism,  with  its  doctrine 
of  fate,  and  to  that  of  Pantheism,  with  its  notions  of 
Divine  Impersonality.  It  solves  the  awful  question 
which,  for  four  thousand  years,  had  pressed  on  the 
minds  of  all  reflecting  men,  and  which  had  often 
wrung  misgivings  and  anxious  forebodings  even  from 
the  unreflecting,  "  wherewith  shall  man  the  sinner 
come  before  God  the  Just?"  In  the  great  expiation 
which  it  ofi'ers  to  us,  there  is  peace  for  the  true  peni- 
tent ;  and  in  the  ministrations  of  the  Comforter,  with 
his  gifts  of  wisdom  and  understanding,  of  counsel 
and  ghostly  strength,  there  is  abounding  succor  for 
all  that  would  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly. 
In  Him  who  is  the  High  Priest  of  our  sanctuary — 
the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith,  we  have  the 
only  faultless  specimen  of  human  wisdom  and  good- 
ness that  the  world  has  seen,  while  in  the  evangelic 
records  this  model  of  a  perfect  and  now  glorified 
Humanity  is  ever  kept  before  us.     And  then,  in  its 


OUR   POSITION.  27 

word  read  and  preached,  and  in  its  ordinances  duly 
given  and  received,  Christianity  has  definite  and 
simple  channels,  through  which  its  divine  and  regene- 
rating influences  can  flow  down  on  the  human  soul — 
quickening  the  dead  spirit  into  life,  enlightening  the 
eye  of  faith,  warming  the  heart  of  devotion,  deepen- 
ing and  hallowing  the  sigh  of  penitence,  kindling  the 
flame  of  love  towards  all  mankind,  and  pouring  a 
soothing  and  strengthening  cordial  into  every  fainting 
heart.  Ours  is  not  a  religion  that  has  its  esoteric 
and  its  exoteric  system.  It  has  no  gross  conceptions 
and  imposing  pomp  to  catch  the  vulgar ;  it  has  no 
decent  skepticism  to  conciliate  the  proud  and  self- 
styled  wise.  With  inflexible  constancy,  it  proclaims 
to  all  the  same  Gospel,  it  exacts  from  all  the  same 
faith,  and  the  same  obedience ;  and  yet  with  a 
wondrous  adaptive  and  plastic  power,  it  can  adjust 
itself  to  every  state  and  condition  of  human  life.  It 
has,  too,  an  all- comprehending,  reconciling  spirit, 
through  which  it  harmonizes  the  most  opposite  and 
seemingly  incongruous  principles  of  man's  nature ; 
afi'ording  food  both  for  reason  and  for  imagination — 
for  conscience  and  for  the  aff'ections ;  conciliating  the 
love  of  man  with  the  love  of  God,  and  making  both 
consistent  with  the  love  of  ourselves.  Finally,  it  has 
a  zeal  for  God's  honor,  and  for  the  redemption  of 
mankind,  that  makes  it  aggressive  towards  every 
form  of  error,  sin,  and  suff'ering,  and  that  can  never 
rest  till  the  triumphs  of  righteousness  and  peace  have 
overspread  the  globe.  And  when  it  goes  forth  to 
achieve  this  moral  conquest,  how  does  it  eschew  all 
the  weapons  employed  by  the  religions  and  the 
governments  of  man's  device,  applying  no  constraint 
but  TRUTH,  ofiering  no  attraction  but  love. 


28  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

Is  this  Christianity,  brethren  ?  and  what  then  is 
their  duty  who  are  its  Ambassadors  and  Ministers  ? 
It  is  plain.  Their  duty  is  to  render  their  preaching 
and  their  practice  definitively  Christian.  It  is  to 
remember,  always  and  everywhere,  that  the  dispen- 
sation they  proclaim  is  a  remedial  dispensation,  that 
their  grand  work  is  first  to  bring  men  to  a  proper 
sense  of  their  sins,  and  then  to  bind  up,  with  balm 
from  Calvary,  the  wounds  that  have  been  opened  at 
the  foot  of  Sinai.  In  enforcing  duty,  too,  their 
appeals  are  to  be  drawn  from  the  cross — from  Christ's 
constraining  love,  as  at  once  the  source  and  the  centre 
of  the  Christian's  inner  and  outer  life.  And  ever  in 
their  own  lives  should  they  recommend  the  meek,  the 
condescending,  the  gentle,  the  forgiving,  yet  the  un- 
compromising spirit  of  their  Master.  The  religion 
they  preach  is  a  religion  that  teaches  hy  examiyle. 
It  is  a  religion  for  sinners.  It  is  a  religion  for  the 
tempted  and  the  weak.  It  is  a  religion  for  the  poor, 
the  afflicted,  and  the  oppressed ;  and  God  grant  that 
to  the  sinful,  the  weak,  the  tempted,  and  the  sorrow- 
ing, our  thoughts  and  efforts  may  always  be  directed. 

May  I  not  add  that  inward  sanctity — holiness  of 
heart,  is  pre-eminently  the  duty  of  a  Minister  of 
Christ.  He  is  to  seem  holy,  that  his  conduct,  instead 
of  countervailing,  may  enforce  his  precepts  ;  and  he 
is  to  he  holy,  lest  the  coldness  or  corruption  of  his 
own  heart  obstruct  the  movements  of  that  Spirit, 
who  through  him,  would  brood,  with  recreating 
power,  over  the  hearts  of  others.  Be  ye  clean  that 
hear  the  vessels  of  the  Lord,  was  the  injunction  even 
of  a  ceremonial  dispensation ;  how  much  more  of  a 
spiritual  and  soul-renewing  one.     It  is  the  glory  of 


OUR  POSITION.  29 

the  religion  of  Christ,  that  it  indissolublj  binds 
together  religion  and  morality  ;  making  them  identi- 
cal in  principle,  adjudging  each  to  be  worthless, 
unless  it  spring  from  an  honest  and  true  heart,  and 
decreeing  that  he  only  can  share  in  the  grace  of  God, 
who  is  willing  to  love  his  neighbor.  Before  the 
Saviour,  too,  there  is  little  of  that  distinction,  between 
personal  and  official  sanctity,  which  the  imperfection 
of  human  tribunals  sometimes  compels  them  to  make. 
Christ  holds  no  one  faithful  as  a  Minister,  who  is 
delinquent  as  a  man  ;  nor  any  one  innocent  as  a  man, 
who  is  derelict  as  a  Priest.  His  religion  blends,  and 
as  it  were  fuses  our  personal  and  sacerdotal  charac- 
ters into  one  ;  so  that  the  individual  is  to  account  for 
the  acts  of  the  officer,  and  the  officer  is  to  stand  dis- 
honored by  whatever  would  stain  and  disgrace  the 
individual.  Serving  near  the  Holy  of  Holies,  that 
becomes  criminal  in  us  which  might  be  allowed  in 
others.  Though  our  personal  sins  may  not  invalidate, 
in  respect  to  others,  the  force  and  virtue  of  our  offi- 
cial acts  on  earth,  they  often  must  do  it  in  Heaven  ; 
and  always  our  official  character  goes  to  aggravate 
our  personal  transgressions,  since  on  us — the  anoint- 
ed of  the  Lord  —  rests  a  peculiar  obligation  to  be 
holy  as  our  Master  is  holy.  And  when  we  go 
before  that  Master  to  render  in  our  last  account, 
office  and  dignity  will  all  drop  away  from  us,  and 
nothing  can  remain  but  our  character  and  our  re- 
sponsibility. Be  these,  then,  the  object  of  our 
supreme  concern ! 

IV.    But  we   are   Ministers  of  Christ  in   the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church.    We  owe  allegi- 

3* 


80  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

ance  to  that  branch  of  the  visible  Bodj  of  Christ, 
from  which  we  derive  our  external  commission.  We 
owe  allegiance  both  to  its  Protestant,  and  its  JEJpisco- 
pal  or  Apostolic  character. 

As  Protestant  it  honors  the  Reformation.  That 
great  religious  revolution,  like  all  others  directed  by 
human  and  uninspired  agency,  was  doubtless  marred 
by  errors  of  judgment,  and  by  infirmities  of  temper 
and  motive.  But  we  must  be  recreant  (it  seems  to  me) 
to  our  trust,  as  guardians  of  the  Bible  and  of  religi- 
ous liberty,  if  we  do  not  commemorate,  with  ever- 
recurring  gratitude,  this  memorable  reaction  towards 
the  primitive  faith.  The  indefeasible  right  of  the 
people  to  the  Bible  in  the  vernacular  tongue,  which 
was  then  asserted  and  maintained — the  adjourning  of 
all  questions,  that  touch  an  article  of  faith,  to  that 
one  Book,  as  the  only  Divine  and  infallible  arbiter — • 
the  distinct  and  effectual  protest  then  made,  against 
the  arrogant  assumptions  of  foreign  Bishops  and  fo- 
reign churches  to  exercise  jurisdiction  beyond  their 
proper  sphere — the  restoration  to  the  adorable  Tri- 
nity of  that  homage  which  had  been  divided  between 
the  Virgin,  and  Angels,  and  Saints,  and  Relics,  and 
Images,  and  Pictures — the  lifting  to  its  proper  place 
of  the  One  Oblation,  once  made  by  Christ,  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world — the  downfall,  wherever  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race  dwells,  of  a  superstition  which  en- 
abled Priests  to  tyrannize  over  conscience,  and  even 
to  invade  the  prerogatives  of  civil  magistrates  and 
the  sanctity  of  private  families — what  were  all  these 
but  a  blessed  boon  alike  to  the  Church  and  to  man- 
kind ?  And  the  fact  that  at  this  day  there  is  most  of 
domestic  purity,  most  of  general  intelligence  and  en- 


OUR  POSITION.  31 

terprise,  most  of  public  spirit  and  public  virtue, 
where  the  faith  of  the  Reformers  is  held  in  its  inte- 
grity, does  not  this  show  that  that  faith  has  been  ap- 
proved of  God,  and  is  entitled  to  be  embalmed  in  our 
fond  and  reverent  remembrance. 

Be  it  ours,  then,  to  cling  to  that  faith.  We  are 
Protestants  by  name,  and  we  are  Protestants  in  prin- 
ciple. We  protest  against  the  domination  of  foreign 
Bishops,  and  against  assumptions  of  infallibility  by 
any  council  or  metropolitan,  living  or  dead.  We  pro- 
test against  all  attempts  to  shut  out  God's  word  from 
the  people,  or  to  fetter  the  human  mind  in  reading 
and  thinking,  so  long  as  it  inquires  with  becoming 
modesty  and  reverence.  We  protest  against  an  in- 
tolerance which  would  visit  aberrations  of  opinion 
with  fire  and  sword,  or  with  any  penalties,  save  such 
as  imminent  and  unquestionable  danger  to  social 
order  may  demand  ; — and  that  intolerance  we  abhor 
alike  when  displayed  by  those  who  hate  the  Reforma- 
tion, and  by  those  who  profess  to  honor  and  adore  it. 
We  are  Protestant  in  regard  to  some  things  which  ob- 
tained even  in  the  Church  of  the  first  three  centuries, 
but  which  were  either  plainly  transient  in  their  na- 
ture, or  which  experience  shows  are  unfriendly  to  a 
simple,  heart-transforming,  conscience-soothing  faith. 
The  twelve  centuries  which  rolled  away  from  Cyprian 
to  Luther,  we  are  far  from  denouncing.  We  recog- 
nize with  thankfulness,  the  enlarged  and  dear-bought 
experience  which  the  Church  then  gained ;  and  we 
would  profit  by  that  experience.  Errors  which  were 
committed  unconsciously,  and  therefore  innocently, 
then,  it  becomes  us  not  to  repeat  now.  Accretions 
which  the  Christianity  of  the  New  Testament  gathered 


S2  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

from  various  concurring  causes,  and  which  were  made 
to  further  for  a  time  the  advancement  of  society, 
would  now  be  only  incumbrances.  We  are  therefore 
not  to  covet  them  ; — innocently  we  cannot  strive  to 
restore  them.  We  are  not  to  forget  the  fate  of  those 
who  have  undertaken  to  unprotestantize  the  Church  of 
our  fathers.  We  are  to  remember  how  wide  is  the 
gulf  that  separates  that  Church  from  the  one  she  has 
renounced  ;  and  that  if  union  is  to  be  effected — coali- 
tion achieved,  it  must  not  be  solely  through  conces- 
sions of  ours.  It  must  be  union  on  principles  com- 
mon to  both.  When  the  rulers  and  doctors  of  that 
communion  shall  seem  willing  even  to  consider  a  plan 
of  comprehension — when,  for  instance,  they  shall  in- 
cline, though  in  the  least,  to  regard  as  loyal  sons  of 
theirs  those  who  would  subscribe  to  the  doctrinal 
statements  of  our  Articles,  it  will  then  be  early 
enough  to  ask  whether  those  same  Articles  may  not, 
by  some  means,  be  translated  into  the  dialect  of 
Trent,  and  the  creed  of  a  persecuting  Pope  be  made 
to  express  the  faith  of  his  martyr  victims  !  Until 
then,  it  rather  becomes  us  to  gather  warning  from 
the  errors,  and  instruction  from  the  vicissitudes  of 
that  great  power.  Towards  her  children  and  her 
ministers,  we  are  to  cherish  only  feelings  of  good 
will.  We  are  always  to  remember  that,  as  citizens 
and  Christians,  their  rights  before  the  law  are  equal 
to  our  own,  and  that  as  moral  and  social  beings,  with 
palpitating  human  hearts  like  ours,  they  can  be 
sooner  won  by  kindness,  than  by  railing  or  by  scorn. 
It  is  against  her  too  prevalent  spirit,  that  we  are  to 
guard,  even  more  assiduously  than  we  guard  against 
her  rites  and  her  external  regimen  ; — for  that  insidi- 


OUR   POSITION.  33 

ous  spirit,  alas  !  lives  and  reigns  in  many  a  Protes- 
tant heart,  in  the  administration  of  many  a  Protes- 
tant function,  and  when  thus  disguised,  it  only  merits 
our  intenser  abhorrence. 

But  if  we  are  Protestant,  so  also  we  are  Episcopal 
or  Apostolic,  holding  not  only  the  Apostles'  fellow- 
ship, but  also  the  Apostles'  doctrine  and  prayers. 
Ours  is  an  historical  religion.  We  make  no  attempt, 
in  our  reverence  for  the  Scriptures,  to  ignore  the 
wisdom  and  accumulated  experience  of  the  past. 
Those  who  went  before  us,  in  the  Church,  lived,  and 
labored,  and  suffered,  not  for  themselves  alone,  but 
for  us  also ;  and  we  have  entered  into  their  labors. 
To  cast  all  these  contemptuously  from  us,  to  launch 
on  the  great  ocean  of  Scripture  truth,  without  chart, 
compass,  or  fixed  star,  to  forego  all  the  contributions 
to  the  meaning  of  the  Bible,  that  have  been  supplied 
by  the  toilsome  studies  and  the  eventful  vicissitudes 
of  eighteen  hundred  years,  would  be  a  thankless  re- 
turn— alike  to  God  who  made  us  children  rather  than 
fathers  in  the  Church,  and  to  those  who  have  thus 
bequeathed  to  us  the  fruits  of  their  suffering  and 
laborious  lives.  To  attempt  to  construct  for  ourselves, 
unaided,  a  system  of  Bible  truth,  is  not,  after  all,  to 
honor  the  Bible, — for  he  who  goes  to  the  study  of  it, 
goes,  almost  inevitably,  with  some  preconceived  judg- 
ment of  its  import ;  and  unless  he  have  rare  candor 
and  force  of  mind,  his  prepossessions  will  be  sure  to 
color  its  declarations,  and  will  urge  him  to  seek,  in 
Scripture,  rather  for  his  own  opinions,  than  for  truth. 
He  who  would  gather  from  the  sacred  page  the  mind 
and  will  of  God,  must  have  a  humble,  teachable, 
truth-loving  heart ;  and  with  such  a  heart,  no  man,  it 


84  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

seems  to  me,  can  hastily  reject  the  helps  that  have 
been  provided  for  him,  in  the  creeds  and  liturgies  of 
the  ancient  Church,  in  the  decrees  of  her  councils, 
and  the  writings  of  her  fathers.  Her  pealing  an- 
thems, her  humble,  penitential  litanies,  her  prayers, 
•which  first  broke  from  lips  hallowed  by  eminent  grace, 
and  mellowed  by  a  wisdom  above  this  world — her 
creeds,  which  have  borne  towards  IJeaven,  in  every 
Christian  age,  the  confessions  of  her  noblest  martyrs 
and  her  truest  saints — these  are  the  Church's  glorious 
commentary  on  the  Bible.  These  form  her  tradi- 
tionary testimony  to  its  received  meaning,  and  to  the 
faith  of  those  who  lived  nearest  to  her  days  of  inspi- 
ration. When  to  all  these  you  add  the  writings  of 
her  greatest  doctors,  and  of  those  especially  who 
wrote  when  all  around  them  was  toil  and  danger,  you 
have  a  mass  of  venerable  lore  to  which  it  becomes  us 
all  to  give  heed. 

But  then  the  inevitable  question  presents  itself — 
which,  among  all  this  mass  of  multifarious  and  some- 
times contradictory  opinion,  is  to  be  regarded  as  pri- 
mitive or  Apostolic  ?  To  this  question,  it  is  obvious, 
that  the  whole  genius  of  our  Church  suggests  one 
answer.  We  are  not  to  lean,  too  hastily,  to  our  own 
judgment.  AVe  are  to  defer  to  their  judgment  who 
were  called  to  consider  this  great  question  in  the  six- 
teenth century ;  who  considered  it  amid  trials  that 
were  fitted  to  tax  to  the  uttermost  their  wisdom  and 
their  faith ;  and  who  have  embodied  the  result  of  their 
deliberations — a  result  which  they  cheerfully  sealed 
with  their  blood — in  our  liturgy,  articles,  homilies, 
and  polity.  I  am  far  from  holding  that  no  man  may 
go  back  of  these ; — but  I  do  hold,  that  he  who  does 


•  .  OUR  POSITION.  35 

SO,  and  he  especially  who  would  set  them  or  any 
material  part  of  them  opprobriously  aside,  should 
weigh  well  the  responsibility  he  assumes.  He,  with 
a  limited  range  perhaps  of  reading;  ere  he  has 
reached,  it  may  be,  the  meridian  of  life ;  when  he  has 
done  little  or  suffered  little  for  the  cause  of  Christ — 
he  would  replace,  by  his  individual  dicta,  the  delibe- 
rate decisions  of  his  Church,  and  the  combined  opinion 
of  men  venerable  alike  for  age  and  for  services — for 
sagacity  and  for  learning.  For  the  Apostolic  or 
Catholic  system,  as  defined  by  such  minds  and  with 
such  authority,  he  would  substitute  opinions,  gleaned, 
it  may  be,  at  will  and  under  the  influence  of  an  ex- 
alted and  over-fond  imagination, — from  the  vast  mass 
of  literature  that  the  Christian  writers  of  the  middle 
ages  have  left  behind  them.  Is  this  reverence  for 
authority  ?  Is  this  modesty  ?  Is  it  thus  that  we 
shall  inculcate  the  duties  of  meekness  and  obedience? 
Is  it  by  such  a  procedure,  that  we  are  to  incite  our 
people  to  respect  the  constituted  authorities  of  the 
Church  and  the  land,  or  do  our  part  towards  building 
up,  throughout  a  world  convulsed  by  anarchy,  the 
dominion  of  law ! 

Pe  it  ours  then,  brethren,  to  remember  our  mission 
as  ministers  of  a  Church,  which  is  at  once  Protestant 
and  Apostolic.  We  are  to  be  the  friends  of  liberty, 
but  we  are  not  to  be  the  enemies  of  order.  We  are 
to  concede  to  all — ministers  and  people — the  privilege 
of  reading  and  thinking ;  but  we  are  to  enjoin  on  all 
alike,  reverence  and  self-distrust.  We  are  to  catch 
the  catholic  comprehensive  spirit  of  our  baptismal 
office,  which  makes  belief,  in  the  articles  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith  as  contained  in  the  Apostles'  creed,  the 


36  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES.  • 

sole  dogmatic  test  for  admission  to  our  fold.  We  are 
to  uphold,  and  by  our  practice,  recommend  those  ad- 
mirable provisions  by  which,  in  our  system  of  polity 
and  worship,  we  combine  the  sober  with  the  earnest 
— the  fixed  with  the  variable — the  material  with  the 
spiritual — the  corporate  with  the  individual — the  tra- 
ditionary with  the  philosophical.  We  should  be 
sober,  because  we  are  always  to  proceed  by  rule ;  we 
should  be  earnest,  because  a  large  part  of  our  services 
is  uttered  in  the  burning  language  of  Scripture.  For 
the  conservative  principle  we  have  security  in  our 
liturgy  and  sacraments ;  for  the  progressive  in  our 
preaching,  legislation,  and  pastoral  care.  Material 
symbols  we  employ  and  value ;  but  their  end  is  the 
renovation  of  a  mind  enlightened  by  faith,  and  their 
efficacy  is  made  contingent  on  the  humility  and  true 
contrition  of  those  who  receive  them.  The  corporate 
relations  of  the  Christian  to  the  Church  we  insist  on 
as  a  great  and  indispensable  duty  and  privilege ;  but 
not  in  such  sense  as  to  make  that  Church  his  Saviour, 
nor  in  any  proper  sense  his  Mediator.  We  may  hold 
to  tradition,  because  our  province  is  to  teach  no  new 
commandment  or  Gospel ;  but  we  are  not  therefore  to 
scorn  philosophical  theology,  for  we  are  to  vindicate 
the  hope  we  cherish  to  every  man's  reason,  while  we 
subject  all  opinions  and  all  systems  to  that  only  safe 
criterion  of  experience,  which  is  thus  set  forth  by 
Coleridge,  "  No  article  of  faith  can  be  truly  and  duly 
preached  without  necessarily  and  simultaneously  in- 
fusing a  deep  sense  of  the  indispensableness  of  a  holy 
life."* 

*  Table  Talk,  part  ii,  p.  54.    Am.  Ed 


OUR  POSITION.  37 

V.  But  again,  "we  are  not  only  ministers  of  Christ, 
and  of  his  religion  as  set  forth  in  a  Church  at  once 
Protestant  and  Apostolic ;  we  are  ministers  of  this 
Church  in  the  nineteenth  centuhy.  The  onward 
flow  of  time  has  brought  us  to  a  position,  unlike  any 
occupied  by  our  predecessors  in  the  sacred  office. 
We  live  when,  with  the  many,  there  is  more  of  intel- 
ligence and  thoughtfulness ;  but  not  perhaps  when, 
with  the  few,  there  is  more  of  high  sagacity,  or  far- 
reaching  faith.  We  live  when  industry  has  vindi- 
cated for  itself  a  new  and  more  commanding  place, 
among  the  powers  that  direct  the  legislation  and 
opinion  of  the  world ;  but  not  when  the  toiling  mil- 
lions it  employs  are  always  admitted  to  a  correspond- 
ing elevation.  We  live  when  there  is  great  activity, 
and  in  some  sense  great  and  almost  universal  earnest- 
ness ;  but  not  when  that  activity  is  always  tempered 
by  forecast,  nor  that  earnestness  duly  subdued  by  reli- 
gious feeling.  We  live  when  there  is  more  of  Christian 
faith  than  there  was  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
more  of  Christian  toleration  than  there  was  in  the 
sixteenth ;  but  alas !  it  does  not  become  us  to  boast 
that  even  now  a  practical  and  life-transforming  faith 
or  sincere  toleration  in  the  heart  is  very  abundant. 
We  live  when  despotism  of  every  kind,  civil  and  reli- 
gious, has  much  to  fear ;  but  not  when  legitimate 
authority,  be  it  the  authority  of  law,  or  the  moral 
sway  that  belongs  to  age,  wisdom,  or  parental  power, 
has  everything  to  hope.  Practical  and  all-embracing 
charity  is  more  active  than  it  once  was ;  but  it  is  not 
always  more  wise,  or  more  patient.  Institutions, 
usages,  opinions,  all  are  arraigned  with  a  free  and 
bold  hand,  and  to  all  is  applied  the  salutary  test,  "  by 

4 


M  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them;"  but  the  trial  is 
not  always  conducted  with  caution  or  discrimination ; 
and  there  is  too  little  care  to  conserve  the  good,  while 
we  eradicate  the  ill. 

Such,  I  conceive,  are  some  of  the  features  of  the 
age  in  which  we  live.     Beside  those  which  affect  all 
classes  of  men,  there  are  some  that  bear,  with  pecu- 
liar effect,  upon  our  own  profession.     The  clergy  are 
no  longer  the  peculiar  guardians  and  dispensers  of 
knowledge.     They  are  no  longer   clothed  with  the 
exclusive  privilege  of  legislating  for  the  Church,  nor 
even  of  teaching  it.     They  are  no  longer  an  indepen- 
dent corporation,  sovereign  over  the  law,  or  exempt 
in  good   part  from   its  jurisdiction.     There  was   a 
time,  when  they  owned  hardly  any  but  an  ecclesias- 
tical superior — when  they  could  successfully  claim  a 
control  over  the  property  and  persons  even  of  lay- 
men— when  they  could,  almost  at  will,  summon  all 
the  powers  of  the  state  to  do  their  bidding — when 
the  absent  husband  could  hardly  correspond  with  his 
wife,  except  through  the  clerk  in  orders — when  all 
laws  were  drawn  up,  all  treaties  reduced  to  form,  all 
deliberations  of  cabinets   and   even  of  parliaments 
aided  and  guided  by  ecclesiastics — and  when   they 
held  possession  not  only  of  cathedrals,  churches,  con- 
vents, and  monasteries,  but  of  all  colleges  and  schools 
of  learning  also.     How  different  is  it  now,  when  they 
are  merged,  by  law,  into  the  one  class  of  citizens, — 
amenable  to  the  same  laws,  mere  sharers  in  the  same 
intellectual  and  social  privileges,  and  left  to  contend 
on  less  than  equal  terms  for  the  direction  of  public 
opinion !     I  say  less  than  equal,  not  so  much  because 
pf  the  political  disabilities  under  which  they  some- 


OUR  POSITION.  8§ 

times  labor,  as  because  I  fear,  that  the  growing  and 
almost  morbid  jealousy  of  interference  on  the  part 
of  the  clergy,  in  things  secular,  excludes  them  too 
much  from  that  promiscuous  commerce  with  men, 
and  from  that  free  conflict  with  the  difficulties  of  life, 
which  seems  almost  essential  to  the  utmost  force  of 
character,  as  well  as  to  the  highest  degree  of  culture. 

And  what  is  the  duty  of  the  ministers  of  Christ  in 
such  an  age  ?  Is  it  to  denounce  it  ?  Is  it  to  shut 
out  from  our  hearts  all  respect  for  it — all  sympathy 
with  it?  Is  it  to  dwell  exclusively  on  its  defects, 
and  bring  these  into  exaggerated  contrast  with  the 
fancied  glories  of  some  age  that  has  gone  by  ?  Is  it 
to  war  only  against  the  outward  forms  which  have 
been  assumed  by  the  social,  intellectual,  or  religious 
spirit  of  the  time,  while  we  overlook  or  take  perhaps 
into  our  very  heart,  the  worst  elements  of  that  spirit  f 
Or,  is  it  our  part,  on  the  other  hand,  to  idolize  the 
age,  to  seize  upon  some  of  its  grosser  achievements, 
and  to  set  these  in  array  against  all  the  past  ?  Is  it 
to  regard  the  spirit  of  the  age  as  a  Divine  Inspira- 
tion, which  has  only  to  move  on  unobstructed  and 
unopposed,  to  accomplish,  for  mankind,  the  most 
beneficent  results  ?  Or,  in  fine,  is  it  our  province  to 
regard  the  characteristics  of  our  age  as  inevitable 
effects  from  causes  that  have  been  at  work  hereto- 
fore, and  to  conceive  that  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
future,  like  those  of  the  past,  must  be  governed  by  a 
blind  and  uncontrollable  destiny  ? 

Neither  of  these  courses,  I  should  suppose,  was  tbe 
dictate  of  true  wisdom.  We  are  placed  here  as 
teachers  and  guides  of  our  time.  To  fulfil  that  mis- 
sion as  we  ought,  we  must,  in  the  first  place,  under- 


40  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

Stand  our  age ;  we  must,  in  the  second  place,  sympa- 
thize to  a  certain  extent  with  it ;  and  we  must,  in 
the  third  place,  be  resolved  that  we  will,  God  being 
our  helper,  do  something  to  improve  it.  We  must 
understand  our  age,  in  order  to  be  understood  by  it. 
We  must  so  far  sympathize  with  its  great  movements, 
that  they  who  are  borne  along  by  them  will  not  be 
disinclined  to  listen  to  us ;  and  improvement  we  must 
believe  to  be  possible,  or  we  shall  not  be  induced  to 
attempt  it.  But  how  can  one  understand  his  age, 
unless  he  be  willing  to  see  and  to  admit  both  its 
merits  and  its  defects ;  or,  how  can  he  have  due  sym- 
pathy with  this  or  with  any  period  of  history,  unless 
he  remember  that,  in  all  periods,  the  same  corrupt 
heart  of  man  holds  sway ;  and  that  hence  the  same 
essential  evils,  however  differing  in  shape  or  in  degree, 
must  prevail  in  all.  And  he  who,  with  a  right  good 
will,  would  labor  to  exalt  and  bless  mankind,  must 
surely  have  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  right  efforts 
rightly  applied ;  and  he  must  go  forth  hopefully,  in 
the  strength  of  God  and  of  a  good  cause,  to  his  work. 
He  must  be  neither  a  fatalist  nor  an  optimist.  Both 
the  form  and  the  spirit,  the  body  and  the  pressure  of 
the  time,  he  is  to  accepts  as  facts — facts  which  he 
cannot  set  aside  though  he  may  leave  them  out  of 
view ;  and  he  is  to  consider  that  it  is  through  these 
facts,  and  in  the  light  that  they  cast  upon  his  path, 
that  he  is  to  labor  for  the  service  of  the  Church  of 
God.  These  facts  he  would  study  and  analyze  by 
the  aid  of  a  high  scriptural  philosophy ;  and  he  would 
study  them,  not  for  purposes  of  speculation,  but  that 
he  may  the  better  help  to  guard  whatever  of  blessing 
we  inherit  from  the  past,  and  to  compass  whatever  of 


OUR   POSITION.  41 

blessing  is  possible  in  tbe  future.  Could  we  but  sta- 
tion such  minds,  vigilant,  large-hearted,  forecasting, 
hopeful,  at  the  great  reservoirs  of  human  opinion  and 
influence,  what  a  benign  change  might  be  wrought 
even  in  a  single  generation  on  the  moral  habits  of 
mankind!  The  faithful  and  enlightened  student  of 
history  finds,  since  the  flood,  no  age  or  civilization 
that  he  would  willingly  reproduce,  even  if  he  could. 
And  he  knows  full  well  that  there  is  none,  though 
ever  so  much  desired,  which  could  be  reproduced ; 
since  the  forces  that  now  mould  societies  and  nations 
are  not  the  forces  that  they  once  were.  He  turns, 
therefore,  to  the  Present,  as  an  inevitable  yet  ever 
changing  and  ever  to  be  modified  fact ;  and  he  would 
so  work  that  this  great  fact  shall  be  the  harbinger 
of  one  brighter  and  more  blessed  soon  to  succeed  it. 
The  blessings  that  the  world  has  gained,  he  would 
remember  and  own,  that  he  may  be  contented  and 
thankful;  the  blessings  that  the  world  has  still, 
through  God's  help,  to  achieve,  he  would  never  for- 
get, lest  he  be  tempted  to  indolence  or  to  self-com- 
placency. 

»  Finally.  We  a,re  American  Ministers  of  Christ's 
Protestant  and  Episcopal  Church  in  this  the  nine- 
teenth century.  The  state  and  institutions  of  our 
country  are  peculiar ;  and  hardly  less  so  is  our  own 
position  as  members  and  clergymen  of  this  Church. 
We  should  be  surely  unworthy  of  our  place,  in  one  of 
the  most  prosperous  and  peaceful  lands  on  earth,  if 
we  were  not  devoutly  thankful  for  the  plenty,  the. 
equality,  the  intelligence  and  the  freedom  that  sur- 
round us.     As  Christians,  too,  we  should  rejoice  in 

4* 


42  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

the  nominal  regard  for  our  religion,  whicli  obtains 
throughout  the  land ;  and  as  Churchmen  we  may 
well  congratulate  ourselves,  that  our  ecclesiastical 
system  is  to  win  its  way  from  a  position  of  compara- 
tive weakness,  to  one  of  general  consideration  and 
confidence,  beneath  the  mild  sway  of  equal  and  toler- 
ant laws. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  may  well  mourn  that  with 
all  our  blessings  as  Americans,  there  is  still  so  little 
of  true  contentment  among  us.  We  may  well  mourn, 
that  there  is  sometimes  so  much  impatience  of  the 
restraints  of  law,  and  always  such  overweening  na- 
tional self-esteem,  combined  with  a  tone  of  detraction 
so  ungenerous  and  undistinguishing  in  respect  to 
the  institutions  and  condition  of  other  lands.  We 
may  well  be  saddened,  when  we  observe  how  much  of 
our  philanthropy  is  spurious  and  superficial ;  how 
much  of  our  zeal  for  the  public  good  is  but  another 
name  for  selfishness  and  ambition.  And  for  the 
future  of  our  land,  may  we  not  sometimes  tremble, 
when  we  see  how  the  bands  of  parental  authority  and 
domestic  afiection  are  relaxed ;  how  much  insolent 
contempt  is  expressed  for  the  wisdom  of  the  past ; — 
how  the  religious  world  is  swayed  to  and  fro  between 
dogmatism  on  the  one  hand  and  mysticism  on  the 
other ;  and  what  a  fearful  divorce  often  obtains 
between  the  profession  and  the  obligations,  the  faith 
and  the  moralities  of  the  Christian  life  ? 

Under  such  circumstances  what  is  our  duty  ?  It 
seems  to  me  to  be  obvious.  It  is  to  remember  that 
we  are  Americans,  and  that  both  our  form  of  govern- 
ment and  the  characteristic  features  of  our  social 
system  are  fixed — fixed  both  in  the  habits  and  in  the 


OUR   POSITION.  43 

afFections  of  the  people.  Our  duty  is,  to  guard 
against  the  tendency  of  studies,  which  lie  much  with 
the  past,  to  disaifect  us  towards  the  faith  and  civiliza- 
tion of  the  present.  We  should  consider,  too,  that 
the  traditionary  beliefs  and  practice  of  nine-tenths  of 
the  American  people  are  at  variance  with  our  own ; 
and  that  if  we  would  gain  a  hearing  for  our  cause  it 
must  be  done  through  kindness,  courtesy,  and  a  blame- 
less Christian  life.  We  must  beware,  too,  of  the  fatal 
mistake  of  confounding  the  essentials  of  our  Church- 
system,  with  the  abuses  in  civil  or  ecclesiastical  ad- 
ministration, which  have  been  sometimes  associated 
with  it  in  our  fatherland ;  and  never  should  we  be 
led  to  speak  or  act  as  if  we  were  the  champions,  the 
defenders,  or  even  the  apologists  for  despotism.  We 
must  also  struggle  against  the  somewhat  provincial 
reverence  for  the  current  theology  and  literature  of 
our  Anglican  mother,  which  even  yet  keeps  our 
Church  mind  too  much  in  vassalage,  and  which  is  so 
apt  to  embroil  us  in  controversies,  or  charge  us  with 
sentiments  alien  to  our  true  mission  as  American 
Episcopalians.  We  must,  for  ourselves,  resort  to  the 
great  masters  of  ancient  and  modern  theology,  and 
substitute  them  as  our  manuals  in  place  of  the  ex- 
tracts, abridgments,  and  superficial  treatises,  which 
too  often  engross  our  time.  We  must  strive,  too,  to 
lay  the  foundation  of  a  more  stable  faith  and  of  a 
higher  Christian  life  among  our  people,  by  working 
out  thoroughly  the  principles  of  our  system  in  regard 
to  the  training  of  the  young — whether  at  home,  at 
school,  or  at  church.  And  in  fine,  we  must  cultivate 
in  our  hearts,  and  in  the  hearts  of  all  our  people,  a 
generous  and  enlightened  interest  in  whatever  can 


44  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

benefit  our  country,  and  our  whole  country — in  what- 
ever can  purify  morals,  or  raise  the  tone  of  public 
intelligence  and  public  taste — in  whatever  can  pro- 
mote a  healthy  feeling  of  Christian  brotherhood 
among  all  classes,  and  in  all  that  can  invest  our  own 
communion  with  a  more  benign  and  powerful  influence 
in  dealing  with  the  prevailing  disorders  of  society,  or 
•with  the  current  errors  in  Christian  doctrine  and 
practice. 

I  have  thus  sketched,  too  briefly  for  the  subject, 
but  too  much  at  length  for  the  occasion,  some  of  the 
main  features  that  characterize  our  position  as  Minis- 
ters of  Christ.  As  Ministers  or  stewards  it  is  re- 
quired that  we  be  found  faithful ;  as  stewards  of  the 
mysteries  of  God,  that  we  be  about  our  Master's  busi- 
ness ;  as  Ambassadors  of  Christ,  that  we  know 
nothing  save  Christ  and  him  crucified;  —  and  as 
Ministers  here  and  now — in  this  church,  at  this  time, 
in  this  land,  that  we  be  wise  as  serpents  and  harmless 
as  doves.  Fulfilled  in  its  true  spirit,  with  a  large, 
enlightened,  and  earnest  mind,  no  calling  can  be 
nobler  than  ours.  We  deal  with  the  highest  senti- 
ments of  man's  nature,  and  with  his  most  momentous 
interests.  We  go  with  him  from  his  birth  even  to  his 
death,  and  never  do  we  leave  him  till  we  give  back, 
embalmed  with  words  of  hope  and  promise,  his  inani- 
mate clay  to  its  last  earthly  rest.  We  are  with  him 
in  his  hours  of  deepest  sorrow  and  of  liveliest  joy ; 
and  if  we  cleave,  in  our  Master's  spirit,  to  our 
Master's  work,  we  must  wrest  from  every  ingenuous 
mind  its  warmest  aff'ection  and  regard.  Speaking 
the  truth  of  God  in  the  name  of  God ;  constituted 


OUR   POSITION.  45 

dispensers  of  his  peculiar  grace,  our  words,  if  meetly 
chosen  and  meetly  uttered,  must  go  winged  with  more 
than  earthly  power.  An  unction  from  the  Holy  One 
waits  to  iiw^est  them  with  a  regal  authority,  and  to 
mark  both  Minister  and  people  as  the  chosen  of  the 
Lord.  Take  heed,  then,  0  man  of  God,  to  thyself 
and  to  the  doctrine. 

Ye,  who  your  Lord's  commission  bear, 

His  way  of  mercy  to  prepare, 

Angels  he  calls  ye  ;  be  your  strife 

To  lead  on  earth  an  Angel's  life. 

Think  not  of  rest ;  though  dreams  be  sweet, 

Start  up,  and  ply  your  heavenward  feet. 

Is  not  God's  oath  upon  your  head, 

Ne'er  to  sink  back  on  slothful  bed, 

Never  again  your  loins  untie, 

Nor  let  your  torches  waste  and  die. 

Till,  when  the  shadows  thickest  fall, 

Ye  hear  your  Master's  midnight  call  ?* 

*  Keble's  Christian  Year.  (2d  Sunday  in  Advent.) 


THE 


CHRISTIAN  MINISTER  A  STUDENT. 


r.r ..,  ,  J,  J, 


SECOND  CHARGE. 


My  Brethren  oe  the  Clergy: 

In  addressing  you  a  year  since,  I  announced  my 
intention  to  offer,  should  God  permit,  a  series  of 
connected  counsels  on  some  of  the  most  important 
of  our  common  duties,  as  Ministers  of  Christ.  I 
then  referred  to  self-culture,  in  its  largest  sense,  as 
the  most  essential  of  these  duties,  since  a  clergyman's 
personal  character  and  endowments  form  the  instru- 
ment with  which  he  works,  whether  for  his  own  wel- 
fare, or  for  the  welfare  of  others.  It  is  an  instrument, 
too,  which  he  may  fabricate  to  a  great  extent  with 
his  own  hand,  thus  assuring  himself  of  its  temper  and 
worth ;  and  in  proportion  as,  in  this  respect,  he  takes 
heed  to  himself,  in  the  same  proportion  will  he  win 
honor  to  his  Master,  blessing  to  mankind,  and  a  glo- 
rious recompense  to  his  own  soul.  The  more  holy  his 
heart,  the  more  resolute  his  will,  the  more  vigorous, 
comprehensive,  active,  and  well-furnished  his  intellect, 
and  the  more  perfect  his  power  of  imprinting  his  own 
convictions  and  aspirations  on  the  souls  of  others — 
so  much  the  greater  will  be  his  capacity  for  good,  and 

*  Delivered  May,  1850. 
5 


60  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

SO  much  the  nobler  the  crown  that  awaits  him  at  the 
last  day. 

In  my  first  charge,  I  endeavored  to  point  out  the 
peculiar  position  of  our  ministry  in  this  age  and  land, 
with  some  of  the  effects  which  that  position  ought  to 
have,  in  modifying  our  professional  efforts  and  our 
methods  of  self-culture.  I  proceed  on  this  occasion 
to  consider  the  subject  of  self-culture  by  itself,  and 
shall  confine  myself,  after  a  few  prefatory  remarks, 
to  one  of  its  branches,  and  to  that  branch  considered 
under  but  one  of  several  aspects. 

That  branch  of  self-culture  which  I  shall  first  dis- 
cuss, may  be  called  the  intellectual^  as  distinguished 
from  that  which  is  moral  and  spiritual.  To  form  a 
mind  well  stored  with  knowledge,  and  well  trained  for 
enlightened  and  thoughtful  effort,  is  of  course  the 
primary  object  of  intellectual  culture.  To  prepare  that 
mind  to  convey  to  others,  through  language  and  other 
modes  of  utterance,  the  precise  notions  and  feelings 
with  which  it  is  itself  possessed,  is  another  object  of 
the  same  species  of  culture;  and  to  qualify  it  for 
conducting  well  and  wisely  the  practical  affairs  of  life, 
for  leading  the  minds  around  it  to  act  on  their  own 
acknowledged  convictions,  and  to  rise  gradually  through 
effort  and  reflection  to  higher  views  of  duty  and  en- 
joyment, is  a  third  and  most  important  end.  We 
have  thus  three  distinct  objects  of  intellectual  train- 
ing, whether  that  training  be  conducted  by  others,  or 
ordered  by  ourselves.  These  may  be  designated  by 
the  three  words,  logical,  rhetorical,  and  administra- 
tive,— it  being  the  aim  of  the  first  to  develop  and  per- 
fect the  power  of  thought ;  of  the  second,  to  cultivate 
the  powers  of  utterance  or  expression,  taking  those 


HOW   WE   SHOULD   STUDY.  61 

terms  in  the  most  extensive  sense;  of  the  third,  to 
bestow  the  wisdom  and  efficiency  which  qualify  us  for 
the  practical  duties  of  our  station.  They  are  objects 
which  must  be  pursued,  of  course,  more  or  less  in 
common,  and  the  powers  with  which  we  become  in- 
vested, through  a  culture  so  extended,  will  be  em- 
ployed often  simultaneously  in  one  and  the  same 
sphere.  If  we  consider  them  with  respect  to  the 
duties  or  responsibilities  of  a  Christian  minister,  and 
as  pursued  by  him  after  he  enters  his  profession,  they 
are  powers  of  which  the  first  will  find  its  most  appro- 
priate sphere  mainly  in  the  study — the  second  mainly 
in  the  pulpit  and  desk — the  third  mainly  in  the  parish 
and  among  the  people.  Whatever  I  have  to  offer 
then,  under  the  head  of  self-culture  for  the  clergy^ 
will  belong  to  one  of  the  three  following  topics : 

The  Christian  Minister  a  Student. 

The  Christian  Minister  a  Preacher. 

The  Christian  Minister  a  Pastor,  and  Ser- 
vant OF  men  for  Christ's  sake.  '  ^ 

In  thus  directing  your  attention  in  the  first  place 
to  the  cultivation  of  the  intellect,  I  mean  not  to  dis- 
parage that  which  must  ever  be  regarded  as  para- 
mount,— the  cultivation  of  the  heart.  Never  would  I 
forget,  nor  have  forgotten  the  fact,  that  a  devout  and 
conscientious  spirit  is  infinitely  more  important  than 
any  knowledge,  though  it  could  compass  all  mysteries, 
or  any  eloquence,  though  it  could  speak  with  the 
tongue  of  angels,  or  any  power,  though  it  could  re- 
move mountains.  I  postpone  this  topic,  in  form,  not 
because  it  is  secondary,  but  mainly  because,  being  of 
primary  and  universal  necessity,  it  should  not  only  be 
an  object  of  special  care,  but  should  blend  itself  with 


62  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

every  branch  of  ministerial  self-culture.  Whether 
engaged  as  a  student,  or  called  to  proclaim  to  men 
the  riches  of  Christ,  or  employed  in  the  manifold, 
delicate,  and  perplexing  cares  of  a  Pastor's  office, 
there  is  no  guard,  no  guide,  so  needful,  as  an  humble, 
dutiful,  and  pious  temper  of  mind ;  and  this,  therefore, 
will  be  insisted  upon  at  every  step  of  our  inquiry. 

Beginning  life,  as  we  all  do,  without  knowledge  or 
mental  development,  our  intellectual  growth  is  the 
result,  in  part,  of  culture  applied  in  our  earlier  years 
by  others,  in  part,  of  circumstances  over  which  we 
have  little  control,  and  in  part,  of  voluntary  efforts 
of  our  own,  more  or  less  deliberate.  It  is  to  the  last 
of  these  alone  that  we  refer,  when  we  use  the  terms 
intellectual  self-culture. 

As  we  are  never  too  old  to  improve  morally,  so 
never  should  we  suppose  that  we  are  too  much  ad- 
vanced in  years,  or  too  well  accomplished  in  mind,  to 
supersede  the  demand  for  earnest  and  enlightened 
effort,  that  we  may  enlarge  our  store  of  knowledge, 
correct  our  intellectual  defects,  and  rise  to  new  and 
larger  views  of  truth.  Life  is  a  race,  whose  goal 
stands  directly  over  the  tomb,  and  we  are  never  to 
count  ourselves  as  having  wholly  lost  or  wholly  won 
the  prize,  till  we  gain  permission  to  lay  aside  our 
mortal,  that  we  may  put  on  immortality.  Who  will 
be  prepared  to  enter  on  the  higher  progress  which 
belongs  to  the  "  life  beyond  life,"  but  he  who  has 
kept  his  faculties  bright  by  use,  and  who  never  ceases 
to  regard  himself  as  a  pupil  in  the  school  of  expe- 
rience and  of  Infinite  Wisdom  ? 

How  inglorious,  with  a  never-ending  career  before 
us,  to  rest  on  laurels  already  gained  !     More  inglori- 


HOW  WE   SHOULD   STUDY.  63 

ous  still,  to  rest  before  laurels  have  been  gained — 
before  one  worthy  trophy  of  our  fidelity  and  power 
has  been  attained.  To  underrate  our  power  over  our- 
selves, over  our  whole  intellectual  as  well  as  moral 
state,  is  the  mistake  of  every  period  of  life — espe- 
cially is  it  the  mistake  of  those  who  have  reached  its 
meridian,  and  who  begin  to  bow  beneath  the  yoke  of 
tyrant  habits.  Never  should  we  think  it  too  late  to 
supply  deficiencies  in  our  knowledge,  or  to  repress 
evil  tendencies  in  our  manner  of  thinking  or  reading. 
Because  all  may  not  become  deeply  learned,  because 
many  can  never  hope  to  dazzle  the  world  by  the 
splendor  of  their  creative  genius,  are  they  therefore 
to  consign  themselves  to  sloth  or  despondence  ?  Let 
them  rather  rise  and  quit  themselves  like  men.  We 
all  can  form  ourselves  to  habits  of  mind  more  just 
and  active  than  we  have  yet  attained.  All  can  cul- 
tivate those  moral  dispositions,  which  predispose  us  to 
love  the  truth,  and  aid  us  in  understanding  it ;  and 
all  can  gradually  gather  new  light  to  guide  them 
amid  the  cares  and  duties  appointed  by  God.  To  as- 
sume, then,  that  there  are  in  our  previous  education  no 
mistakes  wholly  irretrievable,  that  there  is  in  the  way 
of  our  future  improvement  no  insuperable  obstacle, 
and  that  there  is  hardly  any  summit  of  excellence  to 
which  we  may  not  at  length  ascend — this  is  the  true 
wisdom  ;  and  to  act  bravely  and  unflinchingly  upon 
it,  is  the  sure  way  to  do  great  things  for  ourselves, 
and  for  mankind.  We  may  not  win  indeed  all  we  as- 
pire to  ;  but  we  shall  not  fail  of  the  proud  consci- 
ousness that  we  have  done  what  we  could,  while  the 
pleasure  of  constant  self-improvement,  and  the  privi- 

5-^  0 


64  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

lege  of  rendering  increased  and  ever  increasing  ser- 
vice to  others,  will  be  our  sufficient  reward. 

To  a  Christian  minister,  the  objects  of  intellectual 
culture  are  both  general  and  special, — the  former 
embracing  such  as  are  common  to  him  with  other 
men,  the  latter  including  such  onlj  as  pertain  to 
his  profession.  As  a  man,  he  is  to  aim  first  of 
all  to  unfold  and  discipline,  in  due  proportion,  the 
several  faculties  which  are  employed  in  the  per- 
ception and  appreciation  of  truth,  such  as  mem- 
ory, judgment,  imagination,  and  reasoning;  and  in 
the  second  place,  he  is  to  apply  these  powers  dili- 
gently and  wisely,  in  acquiring  exact  knowledge, 
where  such  knowledge  is  possible,  and  in  forming 
judicious  opinions,  where  they  alone  are  within  his 
reach.  As  a  minister  of  Christ  he  is  to  cultivate  the 
special  powers  and  habits  that  fit  him  for  the  mastery 
of  Divine  Truth ;  and  the  largest  amount  of  such  truth 
he  is  to  collect,  alike  for  his  own  edification  and  for 
the  instruction  and  benefit  of  others.  These  two  ob- 
jects of  study — the  development  of  intellectual  power 
and  the  acquisition  of  knowledge — are  by  no  means 
so  distinct  as  may  at  first  sight  be  thought.  They  are 
in  truth  to  be  sought  and  attained,  for  the  most  part, 
by  the  same  methods  and  in  the  same  line  of  study. 
He  who  would  adopt  a  system  of  self-culture,  which 
will  best  furnish  and  enrich  his  mind  with  positive 
truth,  will  usually  find  it  in  the  studies  which  most 
contribute  also  to  quicken,  strengthen,  and  subordinate 
his  various  faculties  of  thought.  And  on  the  other 
hand,  he  who  would  find  the  readiest  way  to  develop 
and  invigorate  all  the  higher  powers  of  the  intellect, 
ought  in  general  to  select  such  studies  as  open  to  him 


HOW  WE   SHOULD   STUDY.  55 

tlie  largest  treasures  of  true  knowledge.  The  severer 
studies,  that  most  tax  our  powers  of  reflection  and  in- 
vention, are  precisely  those  which  best  supply  the 
keys  with  which  we  unlock  the  noblest  and  most  proli- 
fic truths  in  Nature,  Providence,  and  Revelation.  The 
immediate  object  of  a  true  culture,  is  to  place  our 
minds  in  a  commanding  position,  whence  they  can 
overlook  the  whole  field  of  actual,  and,  to  some  ex- 
tent, even  of  possible  knowledge,  and  above  all  to 
endue  them  with  the  power  and  will  to  explore  that 
field.  Everywhere  and  always  its  object  should  not 
be  so  much  to  read  books,  as  to  mark,  learn,  and  in- 
wardly digest  books  that  are  good — those  which  em- 
balm and  treasure  up  "  the  precious  life-blood  of  mas- 
ter spirits."  Its  aim  should  be  through  books,  to 
master  subjects — to  study  facts  only  in  reference  to 
principles.  And  it  should  rejoice  rather  in  the  power, 
which  can  think  and  investigate  wisely,  and  which  is 
thus  potentially  endowed  with  all  knowledge,  than  in 
the  present  possession  of  any  number  of  facts  or  even 
principles,  however  great. 

With  these  preliminary  remarks,  I  hasten  to  the 
main  subject  of  this  charge,  which  is,  the  proper 
9net?iody  matter,  and  motive  for  ministerial  studies,  in 
our  own  church,  age,  and  land.  In  other  words,  I 
propose  to  answer  the  three  questions  that  seem  most 
to  concern  those  students  of  Divine  truth,  who  are 
charged  with  the  solemn  trust  of  acting  as  messen- 
gers, watchmen,  and  stewards  of  the  Lord. 

I.  How  OUGHT  WE  TO  STUDY  ?  c 

II.  What  ought  we  to  study? 

III.  Why  ought  we  to  study  ? 


5B  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

I.  How  OUGHT  WE  TO  STUDY  ? — In  attempting  a 
reply  to  this  question,  I  shall  not  enter  upon  any 
metaphysical  questions  respecting  method.  My  aim 
is  to  present  practical  hints,  and  my  remarks  will  bear 
rather  on  the  spirit  and  general  intent  with  which  we 
ought  to  study,  than  on  the  precise  principles,  philo- 
sophical or  logical,  which  may  be  conceived  to  apply 
to  the  question.  My  counsels,  too,  will  address  them- 
selves rather  to  the  prevailing  wants  of  the  clergy, 
than  to  such  individual  emergencies  as  may  arise. 
Few  maxims  can  be  laid  down  which  will  hold  without 
qualification  in  every  case,  and  to  each  one's  own 
judgment  must  be  referred  the  special  system  that  he 
ought  to  adopt,  to  give  the  best  effect  to  his  efforts  at 
self-improvement. 

If  asked  then,  how  ought  clergymen  to  study,  I 
should  answer,  1.  Earnestly.  2.  Comprehensively. 
3.  Candidly.  4.  Reverently.  5.  Freely.  6.  Sys- 
tematically and  progressively. 

1.  Earnestly,  I  use  this  term  in  a  sense,  perhaps 
somewhat  more  extended  than  is  usual.  I  understand 
by  it  not  merely  warmth  and  activity,  for  these  may 
be  expended  on  objects  the  most  insignificant  and 
unworthy.  Men  are  often  earnest  and  intensely  so 
in  pursuit  of  gold,  of  pleasure,  of  power,  and  even 
of  revenge.  Nor  do  I  mean  merely  the  fervor  with 
which  studies,  even  the  highest,  may  be  pursued,  if 
it  be  for  their  own  sake  only,  or  for  the  sake  of  some 
transient  benefit  or  pleasure  which  they  afford.  The 
really  earnest  man  is  one  who  has  an  object  before 
him  worthy  of  the  zealous  devotion  of  his  best  powers. 
The  earnest  minister  is  one  whose  heart's  desire  and 
prayer  to  God  is,  that  he  may  bless  and  save  his 


HOW  WE  SHOULD   STUDY^  57 

flock ;  and  the  minister  who  is  earnestly  studious  in 
the  sense  which  becomes  him,  and  in  that  intended  in 
this  place,  is  one  who  subordinates  all  study  and  all 
intellectual  effort  to  the  one  work  of  winning  souls. 
With  him,  study  is  not  so  much  an  end  as  a  means. 
It  is  not  the  grand  employment  within  which  his 
efforts  and  aspirations  are  to  expend  themselves.  It 
is  the  arena  on  which  he  trains  himself  for  a  manly 
and-  ever-during  conflict  with  the  powers  of  evil  and 
error  within  his  own  breast,  and  in  the  world  without. 
It  is  the  school  in  which  he  arms  himself  for  the 
noblest  of  all  victories, — a  victory  over  his  own  igno- 
rance, indolence,  and  self-will ;  for  the  noblest  of  all 
ministries, — a  ministry  to  the  souls  for  which  Christ 
was  content  to  die.  In  keeping  ever  before  him  that 
purpose — a  purpose  so  definite,  so  practical,  so  high 
and  heavenly — he  has  a  pledge,  that  his  studies  will 
not  only  be  ardent  and  diligent,  but  effective  also ; 
and  not  effective  only  in  adding  to  an  intellectual 
wealth,  which  may  take  to  itself  wings  and  fly  away, 
but  yet  more  effective  in  gaining,  both  for  himself  and 
them  that  hear  him,  a  saving  and  imperishable  wis- 
dom. 

Such  practical  earnestness  will  do  much  to  guard 
us  against  idleness.  He  who  would  be  really  diligent 
in  business,  must  be  fervent  in  spirit  also.  Sore  are 
the  temptations,  brethren,  that  beset  us  to  fritter 
away  the  hours  that  should  be  given  to  severe  and 
generous  intellectual  toil.  Between  the  claims  of 
friendship  and  the  exactions  of  society,  between  the 
intrusions  of  the  idle  and  the  demands  of  the  busy, 
what  with  visits  to  the  sick  and  afflicted,  what  with 
preaching  the  Gospel  from  house  to  house,  what  with 


"58  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

discharging  public,  though  not  official  trusts,  and 
meeting  our  domestic  duties,  he  needs  indeed  a  stern 
purpose,  who  would  combine  the  habits  of  a  true  stu- 
dent with  ministerial  fidelity.  Time  is  left  to  us,  but 
it  is  time  sadly  broken  up  and  rarely  to  be  called  our 
own.  What  then  is  to  rouse  us  to  this  sternness  of 
effort,  but  a  strong  conviction  that  study  is  that,  with- 
out which  our  most  sacred  duties  cannot  be  well  dis- 
charged ?  Away  with  the  thought  that  such  duties 
can  be  met  aright  by  men  whose  minds  are  not  quick- 
ened and  strengthened  by  constant  reading  and  re- 
flection— whose  stores  of  information  and  range  of 
thought  are  not  constantly  enlarging.  What  are  the 
terms  of  our  commission  ?  Does  it  not  charge  us  to 
go  teaching  every  man  and  warning  every  man,  ^.  c, 
supplying  instructions  and  exhortations  adapted  to 
every  variety  of  character,  every  stage  of  culture, 
every  mood  of  mind  ?  Do  we  not  preach  to  men, 
roused  to  the  most  earnest  activity  by  surrounding 
events — ^men  accustomed  to  the  utmost  freedom  of 
discussion,  and  to  daily  and  stirring  appeals  from  the 
press?  Are  we  not  to  dispense  truth  to  those  of 
every  state  and  condition  in  life,  from  the  humblest  in 
mental  stature  to  those  most  exalted — from  babes  in 
Christ  to  full-grown  men — from  the  dullest  intellect 
and  the  most  torpid  conscience,  to  the  clearest  of  ap- 
prehension and  the  most  fervent  in  faith, — from  the 
insolent  and  reckless  scoffer,  to  the  keen  and  sagacious 
but  perverse  skeptic  ?  Yes,  to  each  we  are  to  give 
his  portion  of  meat  in  due  season.  We  are  to  bring 
forth  out  of  our  treasury  not  things  old  only,  but 
things  new  and  old.  We  are  to  put  to  silence  the 
ignorance  of  foolish  men.     We  are  to  banish  the  too 


HOW   WE   SHOULD   STUDY.  69 

prevalent  notion  that  the  pulpit  is  a  place  for  nothing 
but  iterated  truisms,  for  crude  assumption,  or  inconse- 
quent reasoning.  We  are  to  beware  lest  reproach 
fall  on  our  religion,  through  teaching  which  is  rash 
or  superficial.  We  are  not  to  be  always  laying  again 
the  foundation,  but  we  are  to  go  on  unto  perfection, 
striving  to  unfold  the  boundless  wealth  of  Christ's 
doctrine,  as  it  bears  on  the  diversified  relations  and 
vicissitudes  of  this  our  earthly  lot.  And  can  he  be 
expected  to  do  this,  who  does  not  study,  and  study 
with  his  might  ?  Brethren,  how  frugal  should  we  be 
of  time  !  How  should  we  gather  up  the  fragments, 
that  nothing  be  lost !  How  should  we  bid  away  from 
us  all  the  companionship  that  kills  time — all  foolish 
talking'and  jesting — all  vacant  or  roving  thoughts — • 
all  unnecessary  rest  and  recreation  !  How  should  we 
have  printed  on  our  remembrance  the  solemn  thought, 
that  souls  intrusted  to  us,  freighted  with  the  full 
weight  of  an  endless  blessing  or  an  endless  curse,  are 
daily  departing  to  meet  their  God. 

Such  practical  earnestness  will  also  guard  us 
against  literary  Upieurism.  This  is  one  of  the  be- 
setting sins  of  those  who  call  themselves  students. 
Too  often  they  read,  rather  for  amusement  or  the 
gratification  of  some  private  fancy,  than  to  fit  them- 
selves for  the  great  battle  of  life.  Too  often  the  im- 
portunate demands  of  our  current  literature  are 
allowed  to  thrust  aside  that  robust  culture  and  that 
specific  line  of  research,  which  would  make  us  able 
ministers  of  the  New  Testament.  I  counsel  no  studied 
disregard  of  our  original  propensities — no  needless 
crucifixion  of  natural  or  acquired  taste ;  I  appreciate 
too  highly  the  value  of  a  cordial  and  hearty  devotion 


60'  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

of  the  mind  to  its  work,  and  know  too  well  how  much 
we  need  it  as  a  counterpoise  to  intellectual  inertia, 
and  to  the  manifold  distractions  and  allurements  hy 
which  we  are  surrounded.  Still  it  should  not  be  for- 
gotten, that  self-indulgence  is  always  dangerous,  and 
self-restraint  and  self-direction  always  a  duty.  To 
yield  ourselves  passively  to  the  impulse  of  an  intel- 
lectual appetite,  regardless  of  the  claims  of  our  pro- 
fession, is  too  much  like  being  vassals,  where  we 
are  commanded  to  be  masters.  It  is  less  ignominious 
than  bondage  to  sensual  appetite ;  but  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  it  is  always  more  innocent.  Where 
propensities  belong  to  our  higher  nature,  there  the 
obligation  to  control  them  aright,  would  seem  to  be  only 
the  more  imperative  and  sacred.  Many  is  the  intel- 
lectual Epicure,  who  flatters  himself  in  the  very  spirit 
of  the  Pharisee,  that  he  is  not  as  other  men — not  as 
the  idle,  the  frivolous-minded — when  to  the  eye  of 
the  All-seeing,  he  lacks  all  that  is  most  needful  to  the 
true  scholar. 

How  important  then  to  keep  distinctly  in  view,  the 
work  with  which  we  are  charged !  We  have  promised 
"  out  of  the  Scriptures  to  instruct  such  as  are  or  may 
be  committed  to  our  charge."  We  have  promised  to 
"  be  ready  with  all  faithful  diligence  to  banish  and 
drive  away  from  the  Church  all  erroneous  and  strange 
doctrines  which  are  contrary  to  God's  word ;  and  to 
use  both  public  and  private  monitions  and  exhorta- 
tions as  need  shall  require  and  occasion  shall  be 
given."  Are  such  vows  duly  kept,  if  we  devote  to 
alien  studies  those  hours  which  are  needed  for  profes- 
sional learning?  Be  it  admitted  (as  unquestioned 
truth)  that  our  duties  do  require  not  only  theological 


HOW   WE   SHOULD   STUDY.  61 

knowledge,  but  also  a  generous  erudition  in  letters 
and  even  in  science ;  still  all  should  be  held  in  direct 
subordination  to  our  proper  duties.  We  are  encom- 
passed on  every  hand,  by  those  who  are  hungering 
and  thirsting  for  spiritual  sustenance.  We  are  pressed 
by  questions,  which  touch  on  the  very  foundations  or 
strong  walls  of  our  faith.  We  are  interrogated  by 
minds  strained  to  their  utmost  tension,  and  whom 
nothing  can  satisfy,  but  counsels,  just,  clear,  and  large- 
minded.  Never  was  it  more  necessary  to  fall  back 
on  God's  word,  wisely  expounded,  and  on  a  distinct 
and  firm  apprehension  of  great  first  truths.  Is  this 
then  the  time  for  a  luxurious  and  eflfeminate  culture  ? 
Is  this  a  day  for  what  we  call  light  reading  ?  or  for  a 
merely  secular  and  unsanctified  scholarship  ? 

This  practical  earnestness  will  serve  further  to 
guard  us  even  in  our  theological  studies^  against  such 
as  are  too  fiHvolous  on  the  one  hand,  or  too  'purely 
speculative  on  the  other.  Our  path  through  life  is 
encompassed  with  intellectual  as  with  spiritual  dangers. 
If  we  rise  above  the  dead  weight  of  indolence,  and 
withstand  the  seductions  of  a  lettered  self-indulgence, 
we  shall  then  encounter  the  hazard  of  wasting  our 
strength  on  all  but  useless  inquiries.  How  few  among 
those  who  seem  even  earnest  in  study,  achieve  much 
for  their  own  minds  or  for  the  world  ?  As  there  have 
been  cultivated  ages  and  nations,  incapable  appa- 
rently of  all  creative  efi'ort,  so  in  every  age  and  in 
every  nation  there  are  individual  scholars  who  doom 
the  highest  powers  of  their  souls  to  inaction,  or  waste 
them  in  laborious  idleness.  In  the  intellectual  decline 
of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans,  they  soon  reached 
a  period  when  all  the  fires  of  original  genius  seemed 

6 


62  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

to  die  out,  and  those  gifted  people  aspired  henceforth 
but  to  swell  the  funeral  train  or  watch  beside  the 
grave  of  departed  greatness.  And  is  it  not  so  with 
individuals  even  now  ?  Are  there  not  scholars,  even 
in  our  profession  and  our  communion,  who  expend 
high  talent  in  elaborate  trifling,  in  verbal  disputations, 
in  childish  criticisms,  or  in  studies  that  seem  to  have 
defined  for  themselves  no  aim  or  purpose  ?  Are  there 
not  those  who  linger  long  over  insoluble  enigmas  in 
metaphysical  or  sacramental  theology,  and  devote  to 
the  vain  attempt  to  settle  questions  that  have  defied 
the  sagacity  of  the  ablest  among  the  sons  of  men, 
that  time  and  zeal  which  are  needed  to  furnish  us  for 
our  daily  duties  ?  Even  in  studying  the  Bible  or  the 
standards  of  the  Church,  we  can  have  no  sure  guar- 
antee against  such  errors,  unless  we  carry  to  the  task 
minds  disciplined  and  enlarged  by  a  thoughtful  con- 
test with  the  practical  cares  of  life.  We  should 
beware  of  study,  divorced  from  action,  as  carefully  as 
we  should  beware  of  action  unenlightened  by  study. 
What  we  need  are  sober,  robust,  and  discriminating 
minds,  that  will  not  perpetually  Inistake  shadow  for 
substance,  nor  exalt  questions  the  most  puerile  into 
issues  that  involve  the  fate  of  nations  or  the  existence 
of  the  Church.  Can  we  read  the  history  of  the  past 
and  yet  not  see,  that  while  principles,  and  great  ones 
doubtless,  underlie  most  protracted  controversies 
among  Christians,  still  those  controversies  owed 
much  of  their  virulence  and  duration  to  unduly 
magnifying  points  which  were  merely  incidental  or 
insignificant?  And  does  not  that  history  .show  fur- 
ther, that  every  attempt  to  settle  by  authority,  points 
even  the  most  grave — if  they  are  points  that  elude 


HOW  WE  SHOULD  STUDY.  63 

our  understanding  by  their  subtlety,  or  defy  our  com- 
prehension by  their  vastness — is  an  attempt  as  short- 
lived as  it  is  futile  ?  It  becomes  us  to  denounce  no 
line  of  study  which  is  likely  to  open  new  mines  of 
truth — to  proscribe  no  scholastic  labors,  which  can 
cast  new  light  on  the  word  or  will  of  God.  But  to  a 
Christian  Pastor — and  this  must  ever  be  the  office  of 
a  great  proportion  of  our  clergy — to  a  Christian 
Pastor,  called  to  deal  directly  with  the  consciences 
and  understandings  of  men,  pressed  with  practical 
questions  that  bear  urgently' on  their  salvation  or 
edification, — to  him  it  may  surely  be  forgiven  if  he 
leaves  to  others  that  which  pertains  to  a  too  curious 
philosophy,  or  a  too  recondite  lore. 

It  must  be  acknowledged,  however,  that  in  our 
time,  the  tendency  to  studies  too  frivolous,  or  to  spe- 
culations too  abstruse,  is  not  that  against  which  we 
are  most  called  to  guard.  The  most  momentous  ques- 
tions that  bear  upon  Practical  Religion,  and  upon  the 
economy  of  social  and  even  domestic  life,  are  now 
re-opened ;  and  they  are  discussed,  not  only  by  the 
learned  and  wise,  but  by  those  of  every  condition. 
Discontent  with  prevailing  institutions  and  prevail- 
ing maxims  is  clearly  one  of  the  features  of  the  age, 
and  multitudes  of  all  ranks  and  degrees  of  intelli- 
gence feel  called  to  attempt  their  improvement.  This 
disposition  is  increased,  if  not  created,  by  the  stupen- 
dous innovations  wrought  through  science  and  indus- 
try, and  through  that  heroic  love  of  adventure  which 
exhibits  so  much  of  the  enthusiasm  and  indefinite 
longing  of  the  days  of  chivalry.  We  may  not  wonder, 
then,  that  the  human  mind  is  disposed  at  such  a  time 
to  arraign  opinions  and  usages  the  most  venerable, 


61  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

demanding  by  what  right  they  still  rule  over  men. 
Nor  need  we  wonder  that,  intoxicated  by  its  own 
activity,  and  by  a  presumptuous  self-confidence,  it 
should  now  and  then  be  borne  violently  towards  the 
wildest  and  most  monstrous  conclusions.  If  ever 
there  were  a  call  for  soberness  of  mind,  in  those  who 
act  as  ambassadors  for  Christ — if  ever  they  should 
pray  and  strive  for  the  wisdom  that  will  steer  clear 
alike  of  extravagant  novelties,  and  of  a  blind  and 
bigoted  conservatism,  it  is  surely  now.  And  where 
can  that  wisdom  be  fbund  but  in  a  thoughtful  and 
earnest  devotion  to  our  practical  duties  ?  It  is  through 
such  devotion  alone,  that  we  shall  be  likely  to  work 
our  way  to  a  due  understanding  of  the  real  wants  and 
dangers  of  our  time.  It  will  train  us  to  those  prac- 
tical views,  and  to  that  habitual  clearness  of  judg- 
ment, which  form  our  best  safeguard  against  specu- 
lative error.  It  will  demonstrate  the  absurdity  of 
all  Utopian  dreams  of  human  perfectibility,  whether 
in  the  individual  or  in  the  state.  It  will  awaken  our 
understanding  and  our  sympathies  to  the  precise  evils, 
social  and  ecclesiastical,  under  which  we  labor.  It 
will  reveal  the  utter  deceptiveness  of  many  pretended 
claims  and  promises;  and  when  we  attempt  the  ardu- 
ous work  of  improving  or  reconstructing  institutions, 
it  will  keep  ever  before  us  man's  essential  state  as  a 
being  by  nature  alike  ignorant  and  sinful,  who  can 
be  served  and  permanently  exalted  only  as  he  can  be 
roused  to  exertion  in  obedience  to  the  law,  and  in 
dependence  on  the  grace  of  Christ.  Such  minds  will 
not  wait  to  evolve  a  complete  theory  in  respect  to  the 
organization  of  labor,  the  principles  of  Education,  or 
the  ideal  of  a  Church,  before  they  begin  to  work,  or 


HOW  WE  SHOULD  STUDY.  65 

in  order  that  they  may  work.  They  will  begin  by 
working — working  patiently  and  hopefully,  that  thus 
new  light  may  gradually  break  on  their  conceptions 
of  that  better  state  towards  which  they  should  aspire. 
2.  But  if  we  ought  to  study  earnestly,  so  should 
we  do  it  comprehensively — in  a  large  and  catholic 
spirit.  To  be  earnest  in  quest  of  knowledge,  as  a 
help  and  guide  in  our  cure  of  souls,  is  not  sufficient, 
if  we  are  wanting  in  breadth  of  mind  or  in  range  of 
information.  Mere  zeal  and  ardor  without  these,  will 
often  transport  us  into  bigotry,  or  urge  us  toward 
heresy.  To  refuse  first  to  reconsider  our  opinions 
even  on  doubtful  matters,  then  to  associate  them  with 
whatever  is  most  sacred  and  important,  and  then  to 
denounce  and  persecute  all  who  hesitate  to  accept 
them,  is  the  too  common  result  of  ignorance  or  of  a 
contracted  mind.  To  refine  much  again  even  on 
points  the  best  settled,  to  trace  them  to  their  sup- 
posed consequences,  under  the  direction  of  a  hard 
and  peremptory  logic,  to  neglect  the  rectification  of 
our  conclusions,  by  the  plain  sense  of  Scripture  and 
the  ancient  Fathers,  and  by  the  deep  and  impressible 
convictions  of  mankind,— this  is  another  characteris- 
tic of  an  uncatholic  temper,  and  it  has  proved  fruitful 
alike  in  heresy  and  in  intolerance.  Who  can  rate  too 
highly,  Brethren,  that  large-minded  and  docile  spirit 
which  keeps  itself  open  to  light  from  whatever  quar- 
ter ?  Who  can  prize  too  dearly  the  aid  which  difierent 
branches  of  knowledge  can  yield  to  each  other?  How 
unexpected  and  impressive  the  confirmation  of  old 
opinions,  which  often  flashes  from  studies  apparently 
the  most  remote  from  our  own!  From  how  many 
sources,  critical,  historical,  moral,  and  even  physical, 


66  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

may  we  not  gather  aid  in  elucidating  the  sacred  text ! 
How  can  nature  help  us  in  understanding  the  Bible, 
and  the  Bible  again  in  apprehending  aright  many  of 
the  laws  of  nature !  How  do  the  same  facts  and  prin- 
ciples change  their  aspect,  as  we  view  them  succes- 
sively, from  the  stand-point  of  a  free  and  critical 
reason,  and  from  that  of  mere  human  authority! 
How  different  the  teachings  of  God's  pure  word,  un- 
corrupted  by  tradition,  unobscured  by  philosophy, 
falsely  so  called,  from  the  conclusions  of  a  stern, 
dogmatic  theology!  Do  men  approach  the  great 
questions  of  religion  with  nothing  but  an  imperious, 
practical  understanding  ?  We  need  not  wonder  that 
they  descend  rapidly  towards  the  depths  of  a  Deistic 
Rationalism.  Do  others  apply  to  the  same  problems 
only  the  maxims  of  a  philosophy  more  spiritual  and 
transcendental  ?  We  need  not  be  surprised  if  their 
conclusions,  too,  are  at  variance  with  Scripture,  and 
with  observed  facts.  So  long  as  we  accept  but  one  pri- 
mary source  or  criterion  of  knowledge,  be  it  authority 
or  reason,  be  it  blind  submission  to  any  teaching,  short 
of  God's  own  word  in  its  unquestionable  import,  or 
be  it  the  intuitions  of  the  lower  understanding,  or  of 
higher  consciousness,  or  even  of  the  Christian  affec- 
tions— in  each  case,  the  ultimate  conclusions  will  be 
found  wanting  in  the  breadth  and  comprehensiveness 
which  characterize  "the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus." 
That  truth  is  adjusted  with  respect  to  our  whole  com- 
plex nature,  soul,  body,  and  spirit.  It  speaks  to  all 
the  different  powers  and  susceptibilities  of  our  minds. 
It  was  intended  to  give  play  and  development  to 
every  faculty ;  and  while  in  its  rudiments  it  stands 
on  a  level  with  the   apprehension  of  the  child,  it 


HOW  WE   SHOULD   STUDY.  67 

mounts  in  its  higher  declarations,  far  above  the  range 
of  any  mortal  intellect,  and  calls  us  to  bow  down  in 
wonder  and  adoration,  confessing  that  God's  ways  are 
not  our  ways,  nor  his  thoughts  our  thoughts. 

3.  Again.  As  we  should  study,  earnestly  and 
comprehensively,  so  in  the  third  place,  should  we  do 
it  in  a  candid  and  teachable  manner.  We  all  start 
on  the  race  of  life  without  knowledge ;  and  the  mea- 
sure in  which  we  attain  it,  must  depend  not  only  on 
the  earnestness  and  comprehensiveness  of  our  inqui- 
ries, but  also  on  the  strict  integrity  and  frankness 
with  which  we  conduct  them.  A  perverse  or  disin- 
genuous temper  will  cast  deep  shadows  over  our  intel- 
lect, even  though  it  be  surrounded  by  the  effulgence 
of  a  midday  sun — causing  us  to  put  darkness  for 
light,  and  light  for  darkness.  So  much  there  is  of 
intrinsic  difficulty  in  many  of  the  subjects  that  chal- 
lenge our  attention,  and  so  closely  do  they  press  upon 
some  of  the  deepest  and  most  powerful  of  our  sensi- 
bilities, that  we  cannot  be  too  much  on  our  guard 
against  adventitious  embarrassments,  superinduced 
by  our  own  prejudices  and  passions.  If  the  Gospel 
contains  doctrines  and  precepts  that  commend  them- 
selves to  every  man's  conscience,  so  does  it  contain 
others,  that  are  foolishness  to  the  speculative  and 
earthly-minded  Greek,  stones  of  stumbling  to  the 
sensual  and  pageant-loving  Jew.  If  questions  arise 
that  transcend  all  reason,  and  lay  a  heavy  tribute  on 
our  faith,  how  many  more  are  there  that  lay  burdens  on 
our  integrity,  and  that  will  ever  be  rejected,  except 
by  the  honest  and  sincere  heart !  Our  voyage  towards 
the  haven  of  a  complete  and  harmonious  system  of 
Divine  Truth — does  it  not  lie  between  opposing,  yet 
nearly  impending   errors?     Does  it  not  call  us  to 


68  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

accept  facts  apparently  most  incongruous?  Are  we 
not  to  find  our  way  as  Scientific  Theologians  between 
the  Scylla  of  a  too  scrutinizing  understanding  and 
the  Charybdis  of  a  blind  credulity — between  empty 
formalism  on  the  one  hand,  and  a  vapory,  unsubstan- 
tial spiritualism  on  the  other — between  such  views  of 
God  as  are  too  pantheistic,  and  such  as  are  too  anthro- 
pomorphical— between  the  theories  of  Antinomian 
grace  and  those  of  a  presumptuous  self-righteousness 
— between  an  abnegation  of  all  moral  liberty,  and 
the  claims  to  a  licentious  and  God-defying  freedom — 
between  a  faith,  so  subjective  as  to  be  beyond  the 
reach  of  any  intelligible  test,  and  a  faith  so  purely 
objective  as  to  leave  no  appeal  to  the  primitive  and 
irrepressible  voice  of  God  in  the  soul  ? 

Brethren !  can  we  trace  the  history  of  controver- 
sies so  often  renewed  and  yet  still  unsettled,  without 
feeling  that  there  is  much  in  our  religion  to  teach  us 
our  imbecility,  much  to  write  upon  our  hearts  a  solemn 
sense  of  the  unfathomable  depths  of  the  Divine  coun- 
sels ?  Can  we  consider  how,  from  age  to  age,  men 
of  unbounded  learning,  and  of  the  most  sagacious 
intellect,  have  addressed  themselves  to  the  Divine 
mysteries,  and  yet  have  reached  no  conclusions  that 
men  equally  learned,  equally  able,  and  equally  up- 
right have  not  denied — can  we  consider  this  as  we 
ought,  without  feeling  that  there  are  matters  too 
high  for  us,  and  that  while  we  may  form  opinions, 
they  should  be  held  as  things  doubtful  ?  And  when, 
to  the  intrinsic  darkness  that  belongs  to  these  subjects, 
we  add  the  difficulties  that  embarrass  many  minds, 
because  of  their  peculiar  position  or  temperament — 
because  of  early  prepossessions  or  long-established 


HOW   WE   SHOULD   STUDY.  G9 

habits — does  it  not  become  us  to  look  with  forbearing 
eye  on  much  that  to  us  may  seem  error  ?  To  denounce 
men  because  they  fail  to  reach  conclusions  the  same 
in  all  respects  with  our  own,  as  wanting  in  under- 
standing, or  as  deficient  in  honesty,  is  a  sad  commen- 
tary upon  our  own  intelligence  and  generosity.  It  is 
to  make  our  minds  and  opinions  the  standard  of  all 
orthodoxy.  It  is  to  claim,  in  our  own  behalf,  quite  too 
exclusive  an  exemption  from  the  frailties  and  infirmi- 
ties of  our  common  humanity.  When  we  meet  what 
seems  error,  is  it  not  well,  at  least,  to  hope  that  it 
may  have,  to  those  who  hold  it,  the  very  aspect — 
the  "  counterfeit  presentment" — of  truth  ;  or  that, 
though  questionable  even  to  them,  it  may  still  stand 
associated  in  their  judgment  with  truths  so  certain, 
or  with  interests  so  momentous,  that  they  dare  not 
assail  it  ?  Far  from  us  be  the  unkind  and  unbrotherly 
spirit  which  refuses  to  extend  to  those  of  the  same 
household  of  faith,  and  to  all  who  name  the  name  of 
Christ,  some  measure  of  the  charity  which  we  demand 
at  their  hands. 

And  while  such  considerations  urge  us  to  be  indul- 
gent toward  others,  let  them  constrain  us  to  be  watch- 
ful and  jealous  in  respect  to  ourselves.  In  seeking 
truth,  never  let  us  suppose  that  we  "  have  appre- 
hended." All  through  life,  let  us  proceed  as  learners ; 
and  let  us  remember  that  there  are  few  sources  from 
which  we  may  not  gather  some  help  in  understanding 
the  works,  ways,  and  will  of  the  Almighty.  Vigi- 
lantly and  anxiously  should  we  watch,  lest  unholy 
desire  or  passion  cloud  the  clearness  of  our  intellec- 
tual eye.  Earnestly  should  we  strive,  lest  we  prefer 
our  own  opinion  before  the  judgments  of  truth,  or 


70  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

cling  more  to  that  which  will  make  for  our  present 
ease,  or  credit,  or  pleasure,  than  to  that  which  will 
redound  to  our  everlasting  well-being.  Never  may 
we  forget,  that  if  we  would  know  the  mind  of  Christ, 
we  must  love  truth  better  than  party,  and  covet  more 
the  glory  of  him  who  can  rule  his  own  spirit,  than 
the  transient  triumph  of  one,  who  beholds  his  adver- 
sary silenced  perhaps,  but  not  convinced — defeated  it 
may  be,  but  neither  enlightened  nor  made  holy. 

These  remarks  have  grown  so  unexpectedly  and  so 
unduly  under  my  hand,  that  I  must  hasten  to  con- 
clude. I  have  said  that  as  our  studies  should  be  con- 
ducted earnestly,  comprehensively,  and  candidly,  so 
again  they  should  be  characterized  by  reverence,  by 
freedom,  and  by  progressiveness.  On  these  last 
topics,  I  can  merely  indicate  some  of  the  principles, 
which,  as  it  seems  to  me,  ought  to  regulate  us,  in  our 
efforts  at  intellectual  self-culture. 

4.  Our  studies  and  investigations  should  be  con- 
ducted in  a  reverent  spirit.  The  great  God  and  our 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ  are  everywhere  placed  before 
us,  as  the  paramount  objects  of  our  regard  and  sub- 
mission. It  must  always  become  beings,  so  short- 
sighted and  erring  as  men,  to  keep  silence  when  the 
voice  of  Infinite  Wisdom  is  put  forth,  and  to  bow 
before  its  teachings  with  a  filial  and  confiding  faith. 
That  voice  speaks  now,  obscurely,  through  outward 
nature ;  now,  more  clearly,  through  the  detjp  instincts 
and  intuitions  of  our  own  souls.  Now  it  comes  to  us 
clear  and  full,  through  the  trumpet  of  the  Gospel ; 
now  it  speaks  more  vaguely  and  ambiguously  from 
hidden  oracles  in  the  Old  or  New  Testaments. 
Now  it  is  God  himself  or  his  messengers  full  fraught 


HOW   WE, SHOULD   STUDY.  71 

with  his  own  Spirit  and  wisdom  ;  now  it  is  uninspired, 
yet  most  holy  sage,  or  priest,  or  lawgiver.  Now  it 
is  a  proclamation,  sounding  forth  from  the  collected 
intelligence  or  the  universal  conscience  of  our  race ; 
now  it  is  the  consentient  judgment  of  those  who, 
acting  in  their  official  capacity,  would  define  the  faith 
of  the  Church.  Now  it  is  the  accordant  judgment  of 
learned  doctors  and  fathers,  speaking  each  for  him- 
self;  and  now  the  individual  judgment  of  the  autho- 
rized ministers  of  Christ,  when  preaching  publicly  or 
from  house  to  house.  In  all  these  cases,  the  matter 
spoken,  if  true,  is  in  one  sense  divine  ;  and  though 
not  true,  the  source  whence  it  comes  entitles  it  to  be 
considered  with  respect  and  discussed  with  care.  He 
who  has  the  fear  of  God  before  his  eyes,  and  who 
feels  properly  his  own  fallibility,  will  sit  with  docility 
at  the  feet  of  all  who  are  able  to  teach  ;  and  he  will 
at  least  presume,  until  evidence  shall  overthrow  the 
presumption,  that  where  there  is  lawful  authority, 
there  is  ability  too.  In  the  father,  at  the  head  of  his 
family,  in  the  law-making  and  law-administering  power 
at  the  head  of  the  state,  and  in  the  ministers  and  pas- 
tors of  Christ's  flock,  he  will  recognize  a  rightful, 
though  not  unlimited  or  arbitrary  authority  ;  and  he 
will  feel  that  the  best  interests  of  mankind  and  the 
truest  welfare  of  his  own  soul  require  that  that  autho- 
rity should  be  upheld  and  revered. 

Woe  betide  the  people  who  have  thrown  off  all  alle- 
giance to  a  superior  power !  and  woe,  too,  to  them, 
whether  they  be  a  nation,  a  church,  or  individuals, 
who  in  their  pretended  reverence  for  God,  withhold 
all  submission  towards  his  earthly  representatives  ! 

5.  But  if  our  studies  should  be  reverent,  so  also 


72  DISCOURSES   AND.  CHARGES. 

should  they  he  free  and  manly.  God  has  not  given 
us  inquiring  and  investigating  minds  for  nought.  To 
no  man,  who  has  the  capacity,  has  he  denied  the  right 
to  think,  or  to  ask  a  reason  for  the  faith  or  the  obe- 
dience which  is  claimed  at  his  hands.  In  proportion 
as  we  have  true  reverence,  we  shall  exalt  the  will  and 
teachings  of  the  infallible  Jehovah  above  those  of  frail 
and  fallible  men  ;  and  in  the  same  proportion,  will  it 
be  our  privilege  to  question  those  who  profess  to  speak 
with  a  superhuman  wisdom,  or  by  a  superhuman 
authority.  The  largest  freedom  and  the  deepest  reve- 
rence are  not  only  compatible,  they  mutually  imply 
each  other — there  being  no  true  freedom,  except 
where  there  is  a  sense  of  our  limited  powers  and  our 
essential  dependence,  nor  any  true  reverence,  unless 
it  be  the  spontaneous  homage  of  our  souls  to  an  autho- 
rity seen  to  be  alike  legitimate  and  competent.  A 
blind  and  unreasoning  faith  cannot  be  more  grateful 
to  God,  than  an  ignorant  and  senseless  devotion.  He 
best  honors  his  Heavenly  Master  and  his  earthly 
guides  who  is  able  to  vindicate  the  allegiance  he  pays 
them.  After  all  that  a  reverent  reason  can  comprehend 
there  will  still  be  a  boundless  expanse,  where  implicit 
trust  in  the  Divine  truth  and  goodness  will  be  our 
only  resource;  and  to  prepare  us  for  making  our  way 
with  unfaltering  wing  over  that  great  sea,  we  need  to 
have  seen  for  ourselves  that  God's  ways  are  just  and 
true,  his  works  great  and  marvellous.  We  need  to 
have  certified  ourselves  that  the  word  in  which  we  are 
called  to  trust  is  really  divine,  and  that  many  of  its 
disclosures  have  been  verified  by  experience,  and 
others  expounded  by  reason. 

Where  there  is  true  modesty — a  sense  of  our  own 


HOW   WE   SHOULD   STUDY.  T8 

weakness — a  perception  of  the  superior  wisdom  of 
others,  and  a  profound  veneration  for  God's  word, 
there  freedom  of  inquiry  is  safe  and  salutary.  Where 
that  temper  of  heart  is  wanting,  all  professions  of 
reverence  for  authority,  all  outward  tests,  however 
rigidly  enforced,  will  fail  to  induce  true  wisdom,  or 
guard  us  against  error,  heresy,  and  schism. 

6.  I  should  gladly  dwell,  did  time  permit,  upon  the 
importance  of  systematic,  as  opposed  to  desultory 
studies,  and  of  study  aiming  at  the  progressive  deve- 
lopment of  truth  and  of  our  own  powers,  as  opposed 
to  that  movement  without  progress,  that  reproduction 
of  the  same  materials  in  new  forms,  which  charac- 
terizes too  much,  perhaps,  both  of  our  preaching  and 
our  habits  of  reading.  There  is  a  deal  of  miscellaneous 
reading,  especially  in  our  day,  which  can  do  little  to 
enlarge  our  knowledge,  while  it  is  sure  to  impair  ma- 
terially the  mind's  vigor,  and  its  power  of  concentra- 
tion. There  is  a  diligence  in  preparing  discourses 
for  the  pulpit  which  lays  little  tax  upon  our  higher 
faculties,  and  contributes  hardly  anything  to  the 
range  or  precision  of  our  own  knowledge,  or  that  of 
others.  To  aim  at  a  constant  advance  in  our  views 
of  Divine  truth,  and  in  our  power  of  unfolding  it,  to 
be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  progress  in  theolo- 
gical learning,  and  in  the  clearness,  precision,  and 
compass  of  our  opinions,  and  to  be  bent  on  building 
up  our  flocks  not  only  in  the  first  principles,  but  in 
the  full  and  harmonious  stature  and  proportion  of 
Christian  doctrine  and  Christian  practice,  is  that,  as 
it  seems  to  me,  towards  which  all  should  aspire,  and 
to  which  all,  according  to  the  measure  of  their  capa- 

7 


•T4  DISCOURSES   AND    CHARGES. 

city  and  opportunities,  should  attain.     But  on  this 
topic  I  may  not  dwell. 

I  have  discussed  but  one  of  the  three  questions 
"which  I  proposed  fOr  consideration  when  I  began,  and 
this  has  been  treated  in  a  manner,  I  am  conscious, 
which  is  by  no  means  complete.  Let  me  close  with 
one  or  two  questions,  which  I  would  present  for  our 
common  benefit.  At  our  ordination,  as  priests,  we 
promised  that  we  would  be  "  diligent  in  reading  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  and  in  such  studies  as  help  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  same,  laying  aside  the  study  of  the 
world  and  of  the  flesh."  That  promise  was  preceded 
by  an  awfully  solemn  exhortation  that  we  would 
"  consider  how  studious  we  ought  to  be  in  reading  and 
learning  the  Scripture,  and  in  framing  the  manners 
both  of  ourselves  and  of  them  that  specially  pertain 
unto  us,  according  to  the  rule  of  the  same  Scripture, 
and  for  the  self-same  cause,  how  we  ought  to  forsake 
and  set  aside  as  much  as  we  may  all  worldly  cares 
and  studies."  My  brethren  of  the  clergy,  let  us  often 
ask  ourselves  whether  these,  our  paramount  duties  as 
students  and  as  pastors,  are  duly  considered.  This 
promise  to  be  diligent  in  reading  the  Scriptures,  and 
in  all  auxiliary  studies,  is  it  faithfully  kept  ?  Are  we 
students  indeed,  and  is  the  Bible  the  one  great  sub- 
ject on  which  the  best  of  our  labors  are  expended? 
And  these  sacred  studies,  are  they  prosecuted  with  a 
temper  so  devout,  candid,  and  humble,  that  we  may 
expect  in  their  behalf,  the  special  aid  and  benediction 
of  Almighty  God  ?  Are  we  diligent  also  in  prayer, 
and  in  framing  the  manners,  both  of  ourselves  and  of 
them  that  specially  pertain  to  us  ?     Thus  only  can  we 


HOW  WE   SHOULD   STUDY.  75 

acquit  ourselves  of  our  solemn  vows  and  obligations. 
Thus  only  can  we  presume  upon  the  cheering  and 
sustaining  presence  of  God's  good  Spirit  in  our  hearts 
and  on  our  tmls,  and  thus  alone,  will  we  win  at  last 
the  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant,"  of  our 
Lord. 

"These  messengers,"  says  Archbishop  Leighton, 
speaking  of  the  clergy,  "  should  come  near  the  life 
of  angels,  always  beholding  the  face  of  the  Father 
of  lights;  but  if  their  afifections  be  engaged  to  the 
world,  their  faces  will  still  be  that  way.  Fly  high, 
they  may,  sometimes,  in  some  speculations  of  their 
own ;  but,  like  the  eagle,  for  all  their  soaring,  their 
eye  will  still  be  upon  some  prey,  some  carrion  here 
below.  Upright,  meek,  humble,  and  heavenly  minds, 
then,  must  the  ambassadors  of  this  great  King  have, 
and  so  obtain  his  intimacy;  mounting  up  on  those 
wings  of  prayer  and  meditation,  and  having  the  eye 
of  faith  upwards.  Thus  shall  they  learn  more  of  his 
choicest  mysteries  in  one  hour  than  by  many  days 
poring  upon  casuists  and  schoolmen  and  such-like. 
This  ought  to  be  done,  I  confess ;  but  above  all,  the 
other  must  not  be  omitted.  Their  chief  study  should 
be  that  of  their  commission,  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
The  way  to  speak  chiefly  from  God,  is  often  to  hear 
him  speak.  '  The  Lord  has  given  me  the  tongue  of 
the  learned,'  says  the  evangelic  prophet  (chiefly  in- 
tending Christ),  '  to  speak  a  word  in  season  to  the 
weary.'  (Aye,  that  is  the  learnedest  tongue  when  all 
is  done.)  But  how?  *He  wakeneth  morning  by 
morning,  he  wakeneth  mine  ear  to  hear  as  the 
learned.'     (Isaiah  1 : 4.)     Thus  we  see   how  these 


76  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

ambassadors  have  need  to  be  friends,  and  intimate 
friends  with  their  Lord.  Tor  if  they  be  much  with 
God  in  the  Mount,  their  return  to  men  will  be  with 
brightness  in  their  faces,  and  the  law  in  their  hands  ; 
their  lives  and  their  doctrines  shall  be  heavenly." 


THE 


STUDIES.  OF  THE  CIEEGY. 


THIED  CHAEGE  * 


My  Reverend  Brethren  : 

I  propose  to  resume  this  morning  a  subject  which 
I  introduced  to  your  notice  when  we  last  met.  That 
subject  addresses  ministers  of  Christ  as  students,  and 
presents  as  worthy  of  their  consideration  three  ques- 
tions : 

I.    How  WE  OUGHT  TO  STUDY  ? 

,    II.  What  we  ought  to  study  ?  and 
III.  Why  we  ought  to  study  ? 

To  the  first  only  of  these  topics,  that  touching  the 
method  of  study,  was  I  able  to  give  attention  at  that 
time.  I  proceed  then  on  this  occasion  to  consider 
the  matter  of  the  studies  which  pertain  to  our  profes- 
sion ;  or  in  other  words,  I  shall  endeavor  to  answer 
the  question,  what  ought  to  be  his  subjects  and  text- 
books for  study,  who  is  called,  in  this  age  and  land,  to 
discharge  the  duties  of  a  minister  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church. 

In  entering  on  this  subject,  I  need  hardly  remind 

^  Delivered,  May,  1851. 


80  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

you  that  no  studies,  even  the  most  sacred,  can  impart 
true  wisdom,  unless  they  enlist  the  heart  as  well  as 
the  understanding,  nor  unless  the  spirit  of  Him  who 
was  meek  and  lowly  guide  and  animate  our  labors. 
Neither  the  sublime  teachings  of  Christ  nor  His  stu- 
pendous miracles  served  to  excite  among  many  who 
heard  him  more  than  contemptuous  cavils,  while  to 
others  they  were  only  subjects  for  curious  and  unpro- 
fitable speculation.  The  same  sad  propensities  beset, 
more  or  less,  every  one  who  comes  to  the  study  and 
contemplation  of  Christian  truth.  They  can  be  with- 
stood only  through  watchful  self-scrutiny  and  an 
humble  dependence  upon  the  grace  of  Christ.  If 
prayer  without  study  be  presumption,  study  without 
prayer  must,  in  a  minister  of  Christ,  be  the  height  of 
impiety. 

It  may  be  proper  to  observe  here,  that  the  propor- 
tion of  our  time  which  ought  to  be  allotted  to  study 
must  depend  upon  the  claims  of  our  more  urgent 
practical  duties.  These  are  always  entitled  to  our 
first  and  most  anxious  thoughts.  We  study,  that  we 
may  be  enabled  to  preach  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of 
God  more  effectually,  both  in  public  and  from  house 
to  house.  We  study,  that  we  may  the  better  hold  up 
the  weahy  heal  the  sick,  hind  up  the  hroJcen,  bring 
again  the  outcasts,  seek  the  lost,  that  we  may  be  so 
merciful  that  we  he  not  too  remiss,  and  so  minister 
discipline  that  we  forget  not  mercy.  But  if  these  be 
the  great  and  legitimate  objects  of  ministerial  study, 
then  to  postpone  them,  that  we  may  have  time  for  its 
luxuries,  is  not  only  to  postpone  the  end  to  the  means, 
but  is  to  run  the  hazard  of  losing  sight  altogether  of 
our  true  mission.     "  Theological  learning,"  says  ano- 


WHAT  WE  SHOULD  STUDY.  81 

ther,  "  is  the  profession  of  the  clergy ;  and  it  may 
justly  be  said  to  every  ignorant  minister  of  the  Gos- 
pel, '  Thou,  which  teachest  another,  teachest  thou  not 
thyself?'  Yet  on  the  other  hand,  mere  abstract 
learning,  how  profound  and  various  soever  it. may  be, 
is  not  an  acquisition  much  to  be  valued  by  them ;  it 
is  its  application  to  the  useful  purposes  of  their  pro- 
fession, to  the  bringing  men  from  the  dominion  of  sin 
to  Gospel  perfection,  which  will  render  it  of  any  esti- 
mation in  the  sight  of  God.  I  mean  not  here  to  speak 
in  disparagement  of  theological  learning ;  but,  I  do 
mean  to  say,  that  practice  is  better  than  speculation ; 
and  that  he  who,  in  promoting  the  salvation  of  his 
flock  by  a  sedulous  performance  of  his  pastoral  duties, 
finds  not  leisure  to  be  learned,  instead  of  our  censure, 
deserves  our  warmest  approbation.  It  may  honorably 
be  said  of  such  a  man,  '  Contemnehat  potius  literas, 
quam  nesciehatJ*  "* 

In  making  choice  of  studies,  we  should  never  forget 
that  they  have  a  twofold  object, — the  acquiring  of 
knowledge  and  the  training  and  enriching  of  our 
various  faculties.  What  Bacon  has  happily  styled 
the  Georgics  of  the  mind,  embraces  perhaps  the  most 
important  part  of  a  liberal  self-culture;  for  knowledge 
is  power,  in  its  perfection;  only  when  the  mind  is  so 
developed,  that  it  can  appropriate  and  assimilate  that 
knowledge  thoroughly  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the 
other  can  use  it  wisely  and  promptly.  For  the  true 
scholar,  there  is  in  books  much  more  than  is  usually 
styled  knowledge.  There  are  quickening  and  ex- 
panding thoughts,  which  stir  up  our  minds  to  reflec- 
tion and  investigation.     There  are  images  of  beauty 

*  Bishop  Watson  Tracts,  Vol.  VI,  Appendix. 


82  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

and  sublimity,  which  refine  the  taste  and  exalt  both 
our  conceptions  and  our  aspirations.  There  are 
motives  and  examples,  which  like  the  trophies  of 
Miltiades,  will  not  let  the  thoughtful  beholder  sleep, 
and  which  serve  to  press  and  animate  him  on  to  deeds 
of  high  and  generous  endeavor.  And  there  are 
studies,  moreover,  which  to  most  persons  are  useful 
only  or  chiefly  as  gymnastics^  which  evolve  intel- 
lectual strength  and  self-mastery  through  well-directed 
exercise.  Thus  the  mathematics  of  our  earlier  years 
are  serviceable  to  many,  only  as  they  invest  us  with 
the  power  of  concentrated  and  long-continued  atten- 
tion, or  as  they  accustom  us  to  precision  in  our  notions 
and  use  of  terms.  The  elements  of  foreign  languages, 
and  of  metaphysics,  are  profitable  to  most  students, 
mainly  because  they  cultivate  the  capacity  for  reason- 
ing and  for  nice  discrimination.  Science,  again, 
helps  to  make  us  thoughtful  observers  of  the  pheno- 
mena of  nature.  History  and  polite  letters  render 
us  the  same  service  in  respect  to  the  mental  and  moral 
constitution  of  man  ;  while  poetry  in  its  loftier  ima- 
ginings and  its  gentler  musings,  contributes  to  chasten 
and  yet  to  nourish,  to  expand  and  invigorate,  our 
nobler  and  more  refined  capacities.  Each  of  these 
then  should  have  some  place  in  the  education  of  the 
young — and  if  in  theirs,  why  not  also  in  the  self- 
culture  of  manhood? — There  is  one  consideration, 
which  renders  the  aid  of  one  or  more  of  these  studies 
all  but  indispensable  to  him  who  would  attain  to  a 
truly  normal  intellectual  state.  It  is  the  fact,  that 
every  one  who  is  observant  of  himself,  and  of  his 
mental  tendencies,  is  likely  to  discover  defects  which 
it  behooves  him,  alike  for  his  own  sake  and  for  that 


WHAT  WE  SHOULD  STUDY.         83 

of  others,  to  correct  By  a  wise  choice,  then,  among 
such  studies,  and  hj  a  proper  use  of  them,  he  may 
contribute  greatly  to  this  end.  "  If  a  man's  wits," 
says  Bacon,  "be  wandering,  let  him  study  the  mathe- 
matics ;  for  in  demonstrations,  if  his  wit  be  called 
away  never  so  little,  he  must  begin  again ;  if  his  wit 
be  not  apt  to  distinguish  or  find  differences,  let  him 
study  the  schoolmen,  for  they  are  'cymini  seetores;' 
if  he  be  not  apt  to  beat  over  matters,  and  to  call 
upon  one  thing  to  prove  and  illustrate  another,  let 
him  study  the  lawyers'  cases ;  so  every  defect  of  the 
mind  may  have  a  special  receipt."* 

Besides  intellectual  defects  that  pertain  to  indivi- 
duals, there  are  some  which  are  incident  to  our  pro- 
fession. As  ministers  of  the  Gospel  and  pastors  of 
Christ's  flock,  we  command  a  certain  deference  which 
renders  our  hearers  slow  to  indicate  to  us  fallacies  in 
reasoning,  or  errors  in  fact,  or  offences  against  taste, 
which  may  be  quite  evident  to  those  among  them  who 
are  really  intelligent.  Occupying  the  pulpit  alone 
too,  with  none  who  can  publicly  arraign  our  teaching, 
we  are  in  danger  of  contracting  a  manner  too  magis- 
terial, or  indulging  in  disquisitions  too  loose  and  ram- 
bling, or  manifesting  a  flippancy  not  becoming  one 
who  is  charged  with  a  trust  so  solemn  and  eventful 
as  the  cure  of  souls.  To  guard  us  against  errors  like 
these,  which  are  often  much  more  obvious  to  others 
than  to  ourselves,  a  kind  and  faithful  friend  is  invalu- 
able. In  the  absence,  however,  of  his  counsels,  or  in 
order,  if  we  enjoy  them,  to  make  them  truly  profit- 
able, let  us  cultivate  studies,  such  as  Logic  and  Criti- 
cism, which  will  enable  us  to  become  rigid  censors  of 

*  Bacon's  Works,  Vol.  T,  page  55. 


84  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

our  own  efforts.  To  those  branches,  let  us  add  some 
knowledge  of  the  first  principles  of  Ethical  and  Specu- 
lative Philosophy,  that  we  may  not  grievously  misap- 
prehend nor  thoughtlessly  misrepresent  those  great 
questions  which,  as  they  underlie  all  religion  and  all 
morals,  cannot  but  be  referred  to  more  or  less  dis- 
tinctly, when  we  come  to  set  forth  the  grounds  and 
reasons  of  our  faith  or  duty. 

With  one  remark  further,  I  close  these  preliminary 
suggestions.  He  would  greatly  err,  who  should  ima- 
gine that  books  are  the  only  implements  of  study.  It 
has  been  well  said,  that  "  to  make  judgment  wholly 
by  their  rule,  is  the  humor  of  a  scholar,"  not  of  a 
wise  man.  They  enable  us  "to  improve  nature,"  but 
are  capable  themselves  of  being  still  further  improved 
through  experience  and  reflection.  Their  value  lies 
in  the  grand  principles  with  which  they  enrich  our 
understandings  and  hearts,  and  in  the  disposition  and 
ability  which,  if  properly  used,  they  create,  to  gather 
wisdom  from  every  source.  Bobks  are  good  servants 
but  bad  masters.  Therefore  read,  as  a  great  master 
advises,  "  not  to  believe  and  take  for  granted,  not  to 
contradict  and  dispute,  not  to  find  talk  and  discourse, 
but  to  weigh  and  consider."  An  active,  just,  and 
inquiring  mind  will  collect  instruction  from  every  inci- 
dent of  life,  and  from  every  vicissitude  in  the  world's 
history.  It  will  be  the  wiser  for  every  stray  volume 
or  chance  companion  that  it  meets  by  the  wayside  or 
in  the  house ;  for  it  has  learned  the  divine  art,  which 
finds  tongues  in  trees,  sermons  in  stones,  books  in  the 
running  brooks,  and  good,  at  least  for  itself,  in  every- 
thing. 

Let  me  add,  too,  that  he  learns  most  rapidly,  who 


WHAT  WB  SHOULD  STUDY.  85 

learns  in  order  to  teach.  The  emergency  opens  our 
faculties,  making  us  quick  to  discern  all  kindred  truth, 
and  quick  to  embrace  it.  Time  is  economized,  and 
friends  who  have  the  knowledge  we  seek,  are  laid 
under  contribution.  And  who  has  nobler  opportuni- 
ties than  the  parish  clergyman  to  become  a  teacher, 
not  only  in  religion,  but  also  in  science  and  in  letters  ? 
In  Sunday  and  other  schools,  whenever  he  visits  them, 
he  can  press  into  his  service  both  secular  and  sacred 
knowledge.  A  still  wider  field  he  can  make  if  he 
helps  to  direct  that  taste,  now  so  predominant,  for 
instruction  through  lectures.  Would  he  not  only 
preach  the  Word,  but  would  he  prepare  the  under- 
standings and  hearts  of  his  people,  the  better  to  appre- 
hend and  appreciate  it ;  would  he  become  the  bene- 
factor of  the  whole  population  where  he  dwells,  by 
contributing  to  raise,  their  tastes  and  enlarge  their 
knowledge ;  would  he  win  all  hearts  towards  his  per- 
son and  his  ministry,  through  the  incidental  good 
which  he  is  thus  enabled  to  accomplish — he  has 
but  to  qualify  himself  to  become  their  teacher  in  any 
useful  art  or  branch  of  knowledge.  In  the  generous 
attempt  to  do  something  for  others,  he  will  do  yet 
more  for  himself.  In  mastering  a  few  of  the  leading 
truths,  that  pertain  to  any  branch  of  learning,  he 
creates  a  centre  of  attraction  towards  which  matter 
will  begin  to  converge  from  every  quarter.  Passages 
in  reading  and  facts  in  experience,  that  had  otherwise 
been  barren,  will  begin  to  acquire  significance  and 
value.  The  mind  shall  be  alive ;  sooner  than  it  dared 
to  hope,  stores  of  information  shall  accumulate ;  and 
the  wealth  and  power  which  are  thus  gained  for  one 
purpose,  shall   be  available   for  any  and   for  every 

8 


86  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

other.  Nor  is  there  need  that  in  such  efforts,  we 
waive,  in  any  particular,  the  proprieties  of  our  pro- 
fession. While  we  always  remember  into  how  high 
a  dignity,  and  to  how  weighty  an  office  and  charge 
we  are  called,  and  see  to  it  that  neither  the  church 
and  congregation  of  Christ,  nor  any  member  thereof, 
take  any  hurt  or  hindrance  by  reason  of  our  negli- 
gence, we  may  also  see  to  it  that  no  means  of  use- 
fulness are  neglected,  and  that  we  engage  in  such 
studies  and  labors,  not  as  mere  votaries  of  science — 
much  less  as  pedants  and  sciolists — but  as  humble 
ministers  of  Christ,  who  are  intent  upon  our  Master's 
business. 

Having  thus  touched  upon  the  nature  of  true  and 
comprehensive  study,  as  distinguished  from  that  which 
is  spurious  or  partial,  I  come  now  to  speak  of  the 
OBJECTS  towards  which  study  should  be  directed.  It 
was  a  saying  of  the  ancient  critics,  that  the  mind  of 
an  orator  ought  to  be  stored  with  all  kinds  of  know- 
ledge. If  this  were  true  of  him,  who  spoke  in  the 
Forum  or  the  Senate-house,  it  can  be  hardly  less 
true  of  him  whose  position  combines  much  that 
belonged  to  both  of  those  scenes,  and  to  the  popular 
assembly  besides.  The  man  of  God  is  to  teach,  per- 
suade, exhort.  He  is  to  administer  discipline,  having 
oversight  and  authority.  He  is  to  deal  with  those  of 
each  sex,  and  of  every  age  and  condition.  He  is  to 
address  minds  that  are  in  every  stage  of  development, 
from  the  rudest  to  the  most  polished,  from  the  least 
reflecting  to  the  most  curious  and  inquisitive — minds 
that  sustain  every  conceivable  relation  to  the  faith  of 
Christ,  from  positive  unbelief,  through  captious  skep- 
ticism and  wavering  assent,  to  a  faith  at  once  simple 


WHAT  WE   SHOULD   STUDY.  87 

and  all-confiding.  He  is  to  plead  at  the  bar  of  reason,  of 
conscience,  and  of  sensibility,  knowing  however  that 
each  is  liable  to  be  perverted ;  now  by  stupid  or  obsti- 
nate prejudice,  now  by  morbid  self-love,  now  by  un- 
worthy passion,  now  by  ignoble  sloth  or  by  groundless 
fear.  He  needs  the  greatness  of  heart,  the  courage, 
which  nothing  but  simple  dependence  on  the  presence 
and  grace  of  Christ  can  give  him.  And  does  he  not 
also  need  whatever  of  knowledge,  or  dialectic  skill, 
or  rhetorical  power,  he  can  gain  from  the  studies  of 
the  schools?  He  needs  wherewith  to  explain  and 
defend  the  truth,  and  he  needs  wherewith  to  embel- 
lish and  enforce  it.  Whatever  can  move  or  conciliate, 
whatever  can  awe  or  overpower,  whether  it  be  urged 
upon  the  soul  through  the  intellect  or  the  imagina- 
tion, through  the  aflfections  or  the  conscience,  all 
should  be  his  as  the  fruit  oY  converse  with  the  hoarded 
wisdom  of  the  world,  and  as  the  appropriate  ally  of 
His  cause,  who  of  God  is  made  unto  us  Wisdom  as 
well  as  Righteousness. 

But  life  is  short.  The  cares  of  our  profession  are 
manifold.  Books  are  scarce,  congenial  minds  are  not 
at  hand,  and  alas !  want  is  sometimes  at  the  door. 
We  must  therefore  select,  and  our  selection  must  con- 
fine us  mainly  to  the  studies  that  bear  directly  upon 
our  peculiar  duty  and  profession.  As  the  lawyer 
must  be  occupied  chiefly  with  jurisprudence,  with 
fundamental  laws  and  statutes,  with  commentaries 
and  reported  cases ;  as  the  physician  must  give  his 
hours  of  leisure  and  study  to  researches  in  medicine ; 
so  the  man  of  God,  forsaking  and  setting  aside,  as 
much  as  he  may,  all  worldly  cares  and  studies,  should 
devote  his  best  strength  to  sacred  lore.     Theology  by 


8§  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

itself  is  a  vast  field,  stretching  away  from  the  sacred 
Scriptures  over  voluminous  commentaries  and  biblical 
helps ;  over  the  writings  of  learned  divines,  and  the 
decisions  of  venerable  synods ;  over  the  symbolical 
books  of  churches,  and  the  whole  history  of  God's 
people  in  their  struggles  and  deliverances,  in  their 
government  and  discipline,  in  their  aberrations  from 
faith  and  obedience,  and  in  their  manifold  relations 
to  the  kingdoms  of  the  world.  It  is  to  be  presumed 
that  in  our  preparatory  studies,  some  note  was  taken 
of  each  of  these.  He  would  be  ill-qualified  for  the 
duties  of  our  ministry,  who  did  not  apprehend  clearly 
the  general  scope  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
who  had  not  traced  with  deepest  interest  the  gradual 
unfolding  of  the  one  central  idea  and  purpose  which 
runs  through  the  three  great  dispensations,*  who  did 
not  always  have  before  him,  the  general  object  and 
character  of  each  writer  in  the  sacred  canon,  and  the 
special  place  which  he  occupies  with  respect  to  the 
whole.  He  would  have  studied  to  little  efiect,  if,  in 
addition,  he  has  not  considered  carefully  those  objec- 
tions of  unbelief,  and  those  departures  from  sound 
doctrine,  which  are  most  prevalent  in  our  own  time 
and  especially  near  the  scene  of  his  own  labors.  He 
should  have  digested,  too,  with  proper  aids,  some  co- 
herent views  of  the  whole  system  of  Christian  truth, 
remembering  always,  however,  that  such  systems  are 
but  inductions  by  uninspired  minds  from  the  facts 
and  informal  teachings  of  Scripture,  and  that  they 
have  authority  only  as  they  accord  with  the  voice  of 

*  The  Gospel,  says  Chrysostom,  was  in  tlie  world  before  Christ : 
"  It  took  root  in  the  writings  of  the  Prophets,  but  flowed  forth  in 
the  preaching  of  the  Apostles." 


WHAT  WE   SHOULD   STUDY.  89 

those  who  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.  And  finally,  he  ought  not  to  be  ignorant  of 
the  current  of  ecclesiastical  history,  nor  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  most  flagrant  errors  and  schisms 
have,  from  time  to  time,  arisen ;  nor  how  much  philo- 
sophy, falsely  so  called,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
pride  and  sensual  passions  of  men  on  the  other,  have 
contributed  to  these  rendings  of  the  body  of  Christ 
— these  mournful  disfigurements  of  the  fair  face  of 
Christianity.  And  especially  at  such  a  time  as  this, 
does  it  not  become  every  one  of  us  to  explore  carefully 
and  hopefully  the  foundations  of  our  Reformed  and 
Protestant  Church,  to  mark  well  her  bulwarks,  that 
thus  we  may  vindicate  with  clearer  and  more  impres- 
sive cogency  her  divine  and  scriptural  character  ? 

Here,  then,  are  theological  studies  which  ought  not 
to  be  neglected.  Yet  there  is  great  danger,  lest  in 
our  devotion  to  them,  we  reserve  too  little  time  and 
heart  for  that  which  after  all  is  our  most  urgent  duty, 
— THE  STUDY  OF  THE  BiBLE.  As  the  charter  and 
fundamental  law  of  Christ's  kingdom,  as  the  deposi- 
tory of  all  that  has  Divine  authority,  as  the  one  only 
infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  it  has  claims 
which  nought  else  can  have.  Yet,  convenience  often 
suggests  to  us,  that  instead  of  reading  it  closely  for 
ourselves,  we  may  substitute  the  well-arranged  results 
attained  by  others.  Pride  or  prejudice  whispers,  that 
if  we  read  the  volumes  of  uninspired  theology,  we 
shall  find  our  own  views  reflected  more  clearly  from 
them  than  from  the  Bible,  and  shall  encounter  less  to 
qualify  or  oppose  our  preconceived  opinions.  Early 
associations  rise  up  and  incline  us  to  regard  these 
holy  oracles  as  dull  and  commonplace;  while  the 

8^ 


90  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

frailty  of  our  natural  hearts  disposes  us  more  to  the 
heat  and  storms  of  modern  controversy,  than  to  the 
mild  and  unearthly  splendors  of  that  word  which 
giveth  wisdom  to  the  simple  and  rejoiceth  the  upright 
in  heart.  All  these  are  causes  which  work  with  con- 
stant and  insidious  power ;  and  when,  to  them,  we  add 
the  cares  and  distractions  of  a  busy  and  intensely 
excited  age,  and  the  intrusive  demands  of  our  current 
literature,  who  can  wonder  if  the  Bible  should  some- 
times suffer  practical  disparagement,  even  at  their 
hands,  who  most  loudly  magnify  its  merits  and  insist 
most  imperatively  upon  its  authority. 

But  while  there  is  much  to  draw  us  aside  from  the 
study  of  the  Bible,  there  is  yet  more  which  ought  to 
bind  it  upon  our  consciences  and  hearts.  Science  and 
philosophy,  criticism  and  church  authority,  are,  each 
in  its  own  sphere,  and  as  represented  through  some 
of  its  ablest  advocates,  now  seeking  to  depreciate  this 
sure  word  of  prophecy — this  divine  record  of  the 
past.  Literature  and  art,  also,  are  but  too  ready  to 
ignore  its  peculiar  teachings,  while  a  well-meaning 
but  misguided  philanthropy  is  tempted  to  brand,  as 
human  or  devilish,  whatever  on  the  sacred  page  would 
seem  to  rebuke  the  rashness  of  its  fiery  zeal. 

The  Bible  was  never  more  widely  or  industriously 
circulated,  and  yet  never  perhaps  was  its  proper 
influence  and  authority  in  more  imminent  danger. 
Among  its  most  subtle  and  untiring  foes  are  many 
who  call  themselves  Christians,  and  who  add  to  zeal 
the  most  fervent,  consummate  ability  and  learning. 
Not  they  alone  who  deny  altogether  the  inspiration 
or  credibility  of  the  Bible  are  to  be  met.  They  who 
admit  it  to  a  partial  but  divided  sway;  they  who 


WHAT  WE   SHOULD   STUDT.  91 

would  supersede  some  of  its  records  by  the  teachings 
of  science  or  the  conclusions  of  a  speculative  philo- 
sophy; they  again  who  would  exalt  to  the  same 
divine  honors  the  teachings  of  the  Church — all  these 
are  to  be  encountered.  Assumptions,  which  sixty 
years  since  might  be  regarded  as  part  and  parcel  of 
the  Protestant  mind  in  every  Anglo-Saxon  land,  can- 
not be  so  regarded  now.  These  assumptions  in  behalf 
of  Holy  Scripture  are  arraigned  on  one  hand  at  the 
bar  of  a  high  philosophy ;  on  another,  at  the  bar  of 
venerable  tradition;  so  that  he  who  would  match 
himself  against  some  of  the  mightiest  leaders  of 
thought  in  our  time — leaders  whose  writings  are 
spread  abroad  with  indefatigable  industry — will  have 
to  go  back  more  than  ever  to  the  uncorrupted  Word. 
He  must  review  it  in  the  light  of  these  new  assaults 
upon  its  integrity  and  supreme  authority.  He  must 
remember  how  insidiously  it  may  be  undermined, 
through  a  skepticism  which  clothes  itself  in  the  guise 
of  reverence  and  voluntary  humility,  and  how  this 
most  captivating  form  of  unbelief*  is  even  now  going 
forth  under  the  auspices  of  a  great  communion,  which 
we  fondly  desire,  but  can  hardly  hope,  to  see  reformed. 
From  the  ranks  of  our  own  clergy,  and  from  those  of 
our  Anglican  mother,  that  communion  recruits  its 
decaying  strength  with  minds  of  no  mean  capacity ; 
and  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  the  prevailing  attrac- 
tion, with  most  of  them,  is  the  fond  desire  to  add  to 
the  unerring  word  an  unerring  interpreter.  The  work 
of  defection  still  goes  on, — and  who  shall  stay  it  but 

*  This  system  begins  by  casting  doubt  over  all  ordinary  evi- 
dence, and  ends  by  demanding  unlimited  and  unquestioning 
credulity. 


92  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

they  who  have  gained  for  themselves,  that  they  may 
impart  to  others,  clearer  and  stronger  views  of  the 

CLAIMS,  CREDENTIALS,   CONTENTS,  and   CAPABILITIES, 

of  that  one  book,  which,  in  each  of  these  respects,  is 
high  and  paramount  above  all  other  oracles,  written 
or  oral,  living  or  dead  ? 

I.  Its  Claims.  What  does  the  Scripture  claim  for 
itself  and  in  its  own  behalf  ?  Does  it  come  to  us  as 
a  messenger  sent  from  God,  and  demand  for  its  teach- 
ings an  implicit  credence  ?  Does  it  profess,  too,  to 
be  God's  only  Revelation,*  so  that  we  may  not  go 
beyond  its  recorded  words  to  believe  or  to  do  either 
less  or  more  ? — To  ask  these  questions,  is,  in  my 
judgment,  to  answer  them.  Writings  which  declare 
of  themselves  that  they  were  given  by  inspiration  of 
God,  and  that  they  are  not  only  profitable  for  doctrine, 
but  able  to  make  the  man  of  God  perfect — writings 
of  which  it  can  be  said  that  if  men  hear  them  not, 
neither  would  they  be  persuaded  though  one  rose 
from  the  dead — writings  which  seem  to  have  been 
composed  for  the  express  purpose  of  setting  forth  in 
order  those  things  which  were  in  the  first  place  deli- 
vered orally  by  eye-witnesses  and  ministers  of  the 
word,  thus  the  better  enabling  men  to  know  the  cer- 
tainty of  the  things  wherein  they  had  been  instructed 
by  the  preaching  of  the  Apostles — writings,  too, 
which  contain  not  a  few  warnings  and  censures  for 
all  who  teach  for  doctrines  the  commandments  of 
men,  or  make  void  the  word  of  God  through  their 

*  Reference  is  made  here  only  to  so  much  of  Divine  Teach- 
ing as  comes  to  us  through  the  medium  of  language.  In  one 
sense,  Nature  and  Providence  are  revelations  of  the  Divine  cha- 
racter and  will. 


WHAT  WE   SHOULD   STUDY.  93 

own  traditions — such  works  would  seem  to  affirm 
most  explicitly  both  their  divinity  and  their  suffici- 
ency. Their  very  name — the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment— would  seem  to  preclude  all  idea  of  supplemen- 
tary revelation ;  for,  it  is  of  the  nature  of  a  testament, 
that  it  declare,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  authority 
or  evidence,  the  will  of  the  testator.  The  declaration, 
too,  that  the  law  of  God  is  perfect,  converting  the 
soul — that  they  who  would  have  the  testimony  of 
Jesus  must  search  the  Scriptures — that  the  Bereans 
were  more  noble  than  those  of  Thessalonica,  because 
they  searched  the  Scriptures  daily  to  see  if  that 
which  Paul  taught  was  really  from  God ; — these  and 
like  passages  would  seem  conclusive  of  the  fact,  that 
the  Scriptures  are  invested  with  a  pre-eminent  autho- 
rity, and  are  given  to  every  man — minister  and 
people — to  profit  withal.* 

But  though  this  be  our  judgment  it  is  not  that  of 
others,  and  it  threatens  to  become  year  by  year  less 

*  It  is  impossible,  within  the  limits  of  a  Discourse,  to  show 
that  the  sense  attached  here  to  the  several  passages  I  have 
quoted,  is  their  true  and  proper  sense.  For  a  thorough  discus- 
sion of  the  subject  in  all  its  parts,  I  would  refer  theological 
students  to  Whitaker^s  Disputation  on  Holy  Scripture,  against 
tlie  Papists,  especially  Bellarmine  and  Stapleton.  It  is  one  of 
the  Parker  Series,  and  a  work  of  singular  learning  and  ability. 
It  won  from  its  great  adversary,  Bellarmine,  such  admiration, 
that  he  procured  Whitaker's  portrait,  and  kept  it  in  his  study, 
saying.  Quod  quamvis  hcereticus  erat  et  adversarius,  erat  iamen 
doctus  adversarius.  Bishop  Hall,  speaking  of  Whitaker,  says, 
"  Who  ever  saw  him  without  reverence,  or  heard  him  without 
wonder  ?"  Of  another  work,  better  known  in  this  country,  but 
too  little  read, — Mr.  Goode^s  Treatise  on  the  liule  of  Faith — 
no  one  should  be  ignorant,  who  would  understand  this  most 
important  subject. 


94  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

prevalent  among  many,  both  of  the  ignorant  and  of 
the  self-styled  wise.  By  many,  the  very  right  to  read 
and  interpret  for  themselves,  however  reverently,  the 
word  of  God,  is  more  than  questioned,  and  questioned 
too  upon  the  alleged  authority  of  that  word  itself. 
By  others,  that  right  is  assumed  without  limitation, 
and  with  it  the  still  further  right  of  pronouncing, 
under  the  guidance  of  private  judgment  and  from 
internal  evidence  alone,  whether  the  whole  or  certain 
parts  of  Scripture  be  not  altogether  human  or  fabu- 
lous. And  then  how  many  are  there  who  deny  that 
the  Bible  claims  an  exclusive  and  supreme  authority ! 
How  many,  alas  !  within  our  own  borders,  who  give 
forth  on  this  subject  sounds  that  are  ominously  un- 
certain !  In  their  well-meant  but  mistaken  wish  to 
attain  to  a  certainty  in  sacred  things — not  consistent 
with  our  present  militant  state,*  nor  conducive  to 
our  highest  spiritual  welfare,t  —  how  many  are 
secretly  pining  for  some  authority  which  can  still 
every  rising  doubt  and  hush  all  angry  disputation ; 
which  can  shed  on  the  Church,  in  one  word,  the  fancied 
blessings  of  an  implicit,  uninvestigating  faith  ;  and 
how  many  imagine  that  even  in  Scripture  itself,  such 
authority  is  distinctly  admitted,  or  at  least  sufficiently 
implied ! 

Evidently,  then,  for  this  one  reason,  if  for  no  other, 
the  Bible  ought  to  be  studied  now  with  renewed  ear- 
nestness. The  exact  extent  of  its  claims,  in  its  own 
behalf,  are  to  be  weighed.  Our  theories  of  inspira- 
tion are  to  be  more  clearly  defined.     A  proper  dis- 

*  Why  should  we  not  be  liable  to  error,  as  well  as  to  sin, 
during  our  probation  ? 

f  Doubts  are  a  part  of  our  trial,  and  most  useful  as  discipline* 


WHAT  WE   SHOULD   STUDY.  95 

tinction  is  to  be  taken  and  carefully  maintained, 
between  the  authority  of  the  text  and  the  authority 
of  human  interpreters.  The  Scripture  should  be 
held  responsible  only  for  what  it  declares,  "  either  in 
express  terms  or  by  necessary  consequence  ;"*  and 
these  its  declarations  should  be  calmly  considered  in 
th«  face  of  whatever,  science  with  its  new  discoveries, 
or  philosophy  with  its  "high  priori  road,"  or  criticism 
with  its  utmost  skepticism,  or  tradition  with  its  lofty 
pretensions,  can  plausibly  allege  in  derogation  of  its 
paramount  and  exclusive  claim  to  divine  honor.  The 
more  searching  and  large-minded  the  scrutiny,  the 
more  clear  we  doubt  not  will  be  its  self-asserted  supre- 
macy. In  whatever  degree  this  volume  is  studied, 
with  a  candid  and  open  mind,  in  the  same  degree 
will  it  be  apparent  that  all  co-ordinate  authority  on 
the  part  of  tradition  or  of  reason  is  discarded.  It 
knows  of  no  parallel  stream  of  Apostolic  teaching, 
flowing  side  by  side  with  the  tradition  of  Scripture, 
and  entitled  to  divide  with  it  our  homage  and  allegi- 
ance. Nor  does  it  know  of  instincts,  or  intuitions, 
or  transcendental  reasonings,  which  are  at  liberty  to 
array  themselves  against  this  sure  word  of  prophecy,  f 

*  Bishop  Hall,  Vol.  II,  p.  183. 

f  Quinet  thus  sketches  the  result  attained  by  applying  the  Hege- 
lian Philosophy,  in  the  hands  of  Strauss,  to  the  interpretation  of 
the  New  Testament.  "  Christ,"  says  Strauss, "  is  not  an  individual, 
but  an  idea;  that  is  to  say,  Jiumanity.  In  the  human  race,  behold 
the  God-made  man,  behold  the  child  of  the  visible  Virgin,  and  the 
invisible  Father!  /^a^i5,of  matter  and  of  mind;  behold  the  Saviour, 
the  Redeemer,  the  Sinless  One ;  behold  him  who  dies,  who  is  raised 
again,  who  mounts  into  the  heavens  I  Believe  in  this  Christ— 
in  his  death,  his  resurrection,  man  is  justified  before  God."  An- 
other result  of  the  same  system  of  interpretation,  which  assumes 


96  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

And  the  claims  which  it  asserts,  it  goes  far  to  authen- 
ticate bj  the  unrivalled  majesty  with  which  its  oracles 
are  put  forth,  for  it  speaks  with  authority  and  not  as 
the  Scribes.* 

a  faculty  or  power  in  tlie  mind  competent  to  judge  a  priori  of 
the  credibility  of  any  narrative,  and  which  explains  the  super- 
natural occurrences  in  the  Scriptures,  as  mere  illusions  pro- 
duced by  natural  phenomena,  Quinet  notices  as  follows  :  "  The 
pen  which  wrote  the  Provincial  Letters  would,  be  necessary  to 
lay  bare  the  strange  consequences  of  this  theology.  According 
to  its  conclusion,  the  tree  of  good  and  evil  was  nothing  but  a 
venomous  plant,  probably  a  manchineal  tree,  under  which  our 
first  parents  fell  asleep.  The  shining  face  of  Moses  on  the 
heights  of  Mount  Sinai,  was  the  natural  result  of  electricity  j 
the  vision  of  Zachariah  was  effected  by  the  smoke  of  the  chande- 
lier, in  the  temple  ;  the  Magian  Kings,  with  their  offerings  of 
myrrh,  of  gold,  and  of  incense,  were  the  wandering  merchants 
who  brought  some  glittering  tinsel  to  the  Child  of  Bethlehem  ; 
the  star  which  went  before  them,  a  servant  bearing  a  flambeau; 
the  angels^in  the  scene  of  the  temptation,  a  caravan  traversing 
the  desert,  laden  with  provisions  ;  the  two  angels  in  the  tomb 
clothed  in  white  linen,  an  illusion  caused  by  a  linen  garment  j 
the  Transfiguration,  a  storm."  "  Who,"  asks  a  writer,  quoting 
this  passage,  "  would  not  sooner  be  an  old-fashioned  infidel,  than 
such  a  doting  and  maundering  rationalist  ?" 

*  '•  It  speaketh,"  says  Barrow,  "  with  an  imperious  and  awful 
confidence,  such  as  argueth  the  speaker  satisfied  both  of  his  own 
wisdom  and  authority ;  that  he  doubteth  not  of  what  he  saith 
himself;  that  he  knoweth  his  hearers  obliged  to  believe  him. 
Its  words  are  not  like  the  words  of  a  wise  man,  who  is  wary  and 
careful  that  he  slip  not  into  mistake  (interposing,  therefore,  now 
and  then  his  maybe's  and  perchances),  nor  like  the  words  of  a 
learned  scribe,  grounded  on  semblances  of  reason  and  backed 
with  testimonies  ;  nor  as  the  words  of  a  crafty  sophister,  who, 
by  long  circuits,  subtle  fetches,  and  sly  trains  of  discourse,  doth 
inveigle  men  to  his  opinion  ;  but  like  the  words  of  a  king,  carry- 
ing with  them  authority  and  power  uncontrollable,  commanding 
forthwith  attention,  assent,  and  obedience ;    this  you  are  to 


WHAT  WE   SHOULD   STUDY.  97 

II.  Credentials.  From  the  claims  of  Scripture,  it 
becomes  us,  in  our  day,  to  turn  with  renewed  interest 
to  a  consideration  of  its  credentials.  These  are  from 
without  and  from  within.  I  shall  speak  in  this  con- 
nection only  of  the  former, — only  of  such  as  are  ex- 
ternal to  the  book  itself.  To  most,  if  not  to  all 
Christians  of  our  time,  this  Book  brings  at  least  pre- 
sumptive proof  that  it  stands  invested  with  a  divine 
power  and  sacredness,  for  it  has  won  from  nations, 
and  from  a  long  train  of  ages,  a  title  {the  Bible,  the 
Holy  Bible),  which  implies  that  it  merits  such  rever- 
ence and  honor  as  rightfully  can  be  accorded  to  no 
other  writings,  sacred  or  profane. 

To  us,  who  are  Protestant  Episcopalians,  it  brings 
credentials  yet  clearer  and  more  impressive,  from  the 
Church  to  which  we  belong.  Hear  that  Church  in 
her  Sixth  Article :  "  Holy  Scripture  containeth  all 
things  necessary  to  salvation  :  so  that  whatsoever  is 
not  read  therein,  nor  may  be  proved  thereby,  is  not  to 
be  required  of  any  man,  that  it  should  be  believed  as 
an  article  of  the  Faith,  or  be  thought  requisite  or  neces- 
sary to  salvation."  Hear  that  Church  in  her  Eighth 
Article  :  ''  The  Kicene  Creed,  and  that  which  is  com- 
monly called  the  Apostles'  Creed,  ought  thoroughly 
to  be  received  and  believed,  for  they  may  be  proved 
by  most  certain  warrants  of  Holy  Scripture.'"  Hear 
that  Church  again  in  her  Twentieth  Article,  in  which 

believe,  this  you  are  to  do,  upon  pain  of  our  high  displeasure  ; 
at  your  utmost  peril  be  it ;  your  life,  your  salvation  dependeth 
thereon  :  such  is  the  style  and  tenor  thereof,  plainly  such  as 
becometh  the  sovereign  Lord  of  all  to  use,  when  he  shall  please 
to  proclaim  his  mind  and  will  unto  us." — Barrow's  Works,  Serm. 
XVI. 

9 


98  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

she  declares  that  as  a  Church,  she  has  power  to  decree 
rites  or  ceremonies,  and  authority  in  controversies  of 
faith,  yet  has  no  power  or  authority  "  to  ordain  any- 
thing that  is  contrary  to  Grod's  Word  written,''  or  so 
to  "  expound  one  place  of  Scripture  that  it  be  repug- 
nant to  another,''  or  ''to  enforce  anything  besides 
Holy  Writ  to  be  believed  for  necessity  of  salvation,'^ 

And  to  us  who  are  her  ministers,  how  does  that 
Church  speak,  on  the  solemn  day  when  she  admits 
us  to  the  order  and  ministry  of  the  Priesthood  ? 
First,  in  her  prayer  that  the  people  "  may  have  grace 
to  hear  and  receive  what  we  shall  deliver  out  of  God's 
most  holy  word;" — again,  in  the  exhortation,  "See- 
ing ye  cannot  by  any  other  means  compass  the  doing 
of  so  weighty  a  work  pertaining  to  the  salvation  of 
man,  but  with  doctrine  and  exhortation  taken  out  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  with  a  life  agreeable  to  the 
same,  consider  how  studious  ye  ought  to  be  in  reading 
and  learning  the  Scriptures,  and  in  framing  the 
manners  both  of  yourselves  and  of  them  that  specially 
pertain  unto  you,  according  to  the  rule  of  the  same 
Scriptures ;  and  for  this  self-same  cause  how  ye  ought 
to  forsake  and  set  aside,  as  much  as  ye  may,  all 
worldly  cares  and  studies;" — Once  more,  in  the 
Bishop's  question,  "Are  you  persuaded  that  the 
Holy  Scriptures  contain  all  doctrine  required  as 
necessary  for  eternal  salvation,  through  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ?  and  are  you  determined,  out  of  the  said 
Scriptures,  to  instruct  the  people  committed  to  your 
charge,  and  to  teach  nothing  as  necessary  to  eternal 
salvation,  but  that  which  you  shall  be  persuaded  may 
be  concluded  and  proved  by  the  Scripture  ?" — And, 
finally,  in  the  answer,  so  explicit  and  solemn,  to  that 


WHAT  WE   SHOULD   STUDY.  99 

question,  which  has  fallen  from  the  lips  of  many  of 
us  who  are  here  before  God  to-day,  and  which  our 
Church  puts  into  the  mouth  of  every  one  who  would 
serve  at  her  altars,  ''  I  am  so  persuaded  and  have  so 
determined  hy  God's  grace.'' — Brethren,  I  can  hardly 
conceive  of  attestation,  more  distinct  or  more  em- 
phatic, than  that,  which  the  Church  so  gives  of  her 
exclusive  reverence  for  Scripture  as  the  only  divine 
rule  of  faith  and  practice ;  nor  can  I  envy  his  recreant 
heart,  who  with  such  vows  upon  him,  and  such  exhor- 
tations sounding  in  his  ears,  can  deliberately  go  about 
to  pluck  that  Scripture  down  from  its  high  place,  or 
exalt,  to  a  share  in  its  honors,  the  traditions  and 
commandments  of  men.  The  judgment  of  the  Church 
of  England,  as  pronounced  by  one  of  her  ablest  and 
holiest  Doctors  (Bishop  Hall),  is  the  judgment  of  her 
American  daughter :  "  The  Scripture  is  the  sun — 
the  Church  is  the  clock,  whose  hand  points  us  to,  and 
whose  sound  tells  us  the  hours  of  the  day.  The  sun 
we  know  to  be  sure,  and  regularly  constant  in  its 
motion ;  the  clock,  as  it  may  fall  out,  may  go  too 
fast,  or  too  slow.  We  are  wont  to  look  at  and  to 
listen  to  the  clock,  to  know  the  time  of  the  day ;  but 
where  we  find  the  variation  sensible,  to  believe  the 
sun  against  the  clock — not  the  clock  against  the  sun. 
As  then  we  would  condemn  him  of  much  folly  that 
should  profess  to  trust  the  clock  rather  than  the  sun, 
so  we  cannot  but  justly  tax  the  miscredulity  of  those 
who  will  rather  trust  to  the  Church  than  to  the  Scrip- 
ture."* 

If  beyond  our  own  Church  in  England  and  Ame- 
rica, we  pass  to  the  blessed  company  of  all  faithful 

*  Bishop  Hall,  Vol.  V,  p.  137. 


100  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

people,  "what  is  their  testimony  to  the  value  and  the 
pre-eminence  of  Scripture  ?  What  especially  was 
theirs,  who  shone  as  the  lights  of  Christendom  during 
the  first  four  centuries  of  our  era  ?  On  such  a  subject 
I  desire  always  to  speak  with  diffidence ;  but  I  must 
be  permitted  to  express  surprise,  that  the  authority 
of  these  venerable  names  should  have  been  invoked 
so  often,  and  should  still  continue  to  be  invoked  so 
confidently,  in  behalf  of  a  system  which  would  yield 
to  Scripture  only  a  divided  homage,  or  even  degrade 
its  authority  below  that  of  the  Church.  If  we  except 
the  cases  in  which  ancient  writers,  when  arguing  with 
heretics,  found  themselves  compelled  to  go  beyond 
mere  Scripture  to  an  admitted  succession  of  doctrine; 
and,  if  we  further  except  the  cases,  in  which  the  term 
tradition  is  applied  to  the  Canonical  Scripture,  we 
shall  find  their  testimony  alike  uniform  and  explicit, 
— explicit  as  it  respects  the  authority  and  sufficiency 
of  Scripture  on  the  one  hand,  and  explicit  in  respect 
to  the  right  and  duty  of  all,  whether  lay  or  cleric,  to 
read  it  on  the  other.  This  is  the  case  even  with 
Irenaeus,  whose  testimony  is  so  often  adduced  in  oppo- 
sition.* It  is  the  case  also  with  Origen,  with  Atha- 
nasius,  with  Basil  the  great,  with  Cyril,  with  Cyprian, 
with  Jerome,  and  others.  Says  Lactantius  (vii,  2), 
**  Those  things  can  have  no  foundation  or  firmness 
which  are  not  sustained  by  any  oracle  of  God's  word." 
Says  Augustine,  the  grand  luminary  of  the  Western 
Church,  "  I  do  believe  that  if  a  man  could  not  be 
ignorant  of  this  thing  without  damage  of  his  salvation, 

*  See  Dr.  Jarvis's  Eeply  to  Milner's  End  of  Controversy,  for  an 
examination  of  the  passages  in  Irenseus,  which  bear  on  this  ques- 
tion. 


WHAT  WE  SHOULD  STUDY.        101 

there  would  be  most  clear  authority  for  it  in  the  divine 
oracles."  (De  Pec.  Mer.  et  Rem.  ii,  36.)  Says 
Chrysostom,  the  golden-mouthed,  a  luminary  not  less 
brilliant  in  the  Eastern  Church,  "  The  Scripture  does 
not  permit  the  hearer  of  it  to  go  wrong."  (Hom.  xiii, 
in  Gen.)  And  again  (Hom.  Psalm  xcv),  "  If  any- 
thing be  spoken  without  proof  from  Scripture,  the 
thoughts  of  the  hearers  stumble,  now  assenting,  now 
hesitating,  sometimes  turning  from  the  discourse  as 
frivolous,  sometimes  receiving  it  as  specious ;  but 
when  the  testimony  of  the  voice  of  God  is  uttered 
from  the  Scripture,  it  confirms  at  once  the  discourse 
of  him  who  speaks,  and  the  mind  of  him  who  hears." 
And  what  was  the  testimony  of  these  great  men, 
respecting  tlie  right  and  duty  of  the  people  to  read 
and  interpret  Grod's  word?  When  a  pleasure-seeking 
and  worldly-minded  laity  perverted  the  distinction  be- 
tween ministers  and  people,  so  as  to  infer  that  the 
former  only  were  bound  to  study  that  word,  and  that 
the  latter  must  depend  for  their  instruction  in  divine 
things  on  the  clergy,  without  being  entitled  to  go  to 
the  original  source  itself,  Chrysostom  loudly  remon- 
strates. He  points  out  how  thei/  especially  needed 
the  panoply  of  Scripture  who  were  in  the  midst  of 
the  storms  of  the  world  and  exposed  to  its  many 
temptations.  "  Frequently,"  says  Neander,  "  both 
in  private  conversation  and  in  his  public  discourses, 
he  exhorted  his  hearers  not  to  rest  satisfied  with  that 
which  they  heard  read  from  the  Scriptures  in  the 
Church,  but  to  read  them  also  with  their  families  at 
home :  for  what  food  was  for  the  body,  such  the  Holy 
Scriptures  were  for  the  soul — the  source  whence  it 

9* 


108  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

derived  substantial  strength.  To  induce  his  hearers 
to  study  the  Scriptures,  he  was  often  accustomed, 
•when  there  was  as  yet  no  set  lesson  of  the  sacred 
word  prescribed  for  every  Sunday,  to  give  out  for 
some  time  beforehand,  the  text  which  he  designed  to 
make  a  subject  jof  discourse  on  some  particular  occa- 
sion, and  to  exhort  them,  in  order  that  they  might  be 
better  prepared  for  his  remarks,  in  the  meantime  to 
reflect  upon  it  themselves.  In  like  manner,  Augus- 
tine says,  "Do  not  allow  yourselves  to  be  so  immersed 
in  present  earthly  things,  as  to  be  obliged  to  say,  I 
have  no  time  to  read  or  to  hear  God's  word."  Among 
the  characters  of  the  zealous  Christian,  whom  he  de- 
scribes under  the  figure  of  the  ant,  as  one  that  trea- 
sures up  from  the  divine  word  that  which  he  may 
have  occasion  to  use  in  the  time  of  need,  he  places 
the  following :  "  He  goes  to  church  and  listens  to 
God's  word ;  he  returns  home,  finds  a  Bible  there, 
and  opens  and  reads  it."  Often  does  Chrysostom 
trace  the  corruptions  of  the  Church,  as  well  in  doc- 
trine as  in  life,  the  spread  of  error  and  of  vice,  to  the 
prevailing  ignorance  of  the  Scriptures.* 

With  one  thought  more  I  close  this  branch  of  the 

*  See.  Neander's  History  of  the  Christian  Religion,  and  the 
Church,  Vol.  II,  p.  281.  It  is  mournful  to  find  how  the  language 
of  the  Prelates  of  the  Church  of  Rome  has  changed  on  this 
subject.  Among  the  propositions  of  Quesnel  which  were  con- 
demned, are  four  (80,  81,  82,  84),  which  declare  the  reading  of 
the  Sacred  Scripture,  to  be  the  privilege  of  all.  So  Pope  Pius  VI, 
in  his  condemnation  of  the  Synod  of  Pistoga  (A.D.  1794),  says, 
"  The  doctrine  that  nothing  but  incapacity  can  excuse  from  read- 
ing the  Scriptures,  and  that  the  neglect  of  this  precept  is  noto- 
riously the  cause  of  the  obscurity  brought  on  the  very  chief 
truths" — isfalse^  rashj  and  tends  to  disturb  the  peace  of  souls. 


WHAT  WE  SHOULD  STUDY.        103 

subject.  The  Bible  has  the  strongest  credentials, 
even  from  its  enemies,  in  the  impotence  of  their  at- 
tempts to  overthrow  its  credibility  and  divine  autho- 
rity. No  book  ever  had  so  many  points  of  contact 
with  the  human  mind  as  Scripture ;  and  if  false, 
therefore,  none  was  ever  so  vulnerable.  Miscel- 
laneous in  its  contents,  the  work  of  many  different 
minds  who  were  unconnected  and  unacquainted  with 
each  other, — composed  in  different  languages,  and  at 
periods  that  stretch  back  from  St.  John  to  Moses, 
through  sixteen  hundred  years, — embracing  history, 
jurisprudence,  ethics,  poetry,  prophecy,  with  mani- 
fold allusion  to  the  physical  and  topographical  state 
of  different  countries  and  of  the  earth  at  large, — it 
seems  to  invite  the  scrutiny  of  every  class  of  scholars 
and  philosophers.  It  can  be  compared  with  profane 
history.  It  can  be  compared  with  the  story  told  by 
mouldering  ruins.  It  can  be  compared  with  the  in- 
scriptions on  half-defaced  medals.  It  can  be  com- 
pared with  the  sculptured  or  painted  figures  on  tow- 
ering pyramids,  with  the  disinterred  remains  of  buried 
cities,  with  the  cemeteries  of  dead  races  that  encircle 
the  whole  earth,  with  calculated  motions  of  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars.  Have  these  comparisons  been  made  ? 
Have  they  been  made  by  men,  able,  acute,  learned, 
and  in  many  instances  hostile  to  Revelation  ?  In 
each  case,  where  anything  like  a  full  and  fair  conclu- 
sion was  reached,  has  it  been,  on  the  whole,  favorable 
to  this  depository  of  our  faith  ?  Then  may  we  che- 
rish the  assurance  that  what  has  been,  will  be.  New 
investigations  shall  result  in  new  and  independent 
verifications.  Philology,  Ethnology,  Archaeology, 
Numismatics,  Physiology,  History,  Physics,  each  by  its 


104  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

own  proper  methods,  shall  reach  conclusions  which  tend 
more  and  more  to  corroborate  Revelation,  so  that  the 
time  shall  at  length  come,  when,  through  an  improved 
Biblical  interpretation*  on  the  one  hand,  and  more 
thorough  critical  and  scientific  exploration  on  the 
other.  Science  and  Scripture  shall  become  clearly  ac- 
cordant, and  the  strains  that  go  up  from  the  temple 
of  nature  shall  mingle  and  blend  sweetly  with  those 
that  go  up  from  the  temple  of  grace,  and  all  be  lost 
in  the  one  swelling  chorus,  "  Great  and  marvellous  are 
thy  works.  Lord  God  Almighty ;  just  and  true  are 
thy  ways,  thou  King  of  Saints." 

*  "It  is  not  at  all  incredible,"  says  Butler  (Analogy  II,  ch.  3), 
"that  a  book  which  has  been  so  long  in  the  possession  of  mankind, 
should  contain  many  truths  as  yet  undiscovered."  Again,  "  As 
it  is  owned  the  whole  scheme  of  Scripture  is  not  yet  understood ; 
so  if  it  ever  comes  to  be  understood,  before  the  restitution  of  all 
things,  and  without  miraculous  interpositions,  it  must  be  in  the 
same  way  as  natural  knowledge  is  come  at :  by  the  continuance 
and  progress  of  learning  and  liberty  j  and  by  particular  persons 
attending  to,  comparing,  and  pursuing  intimations  scattered  up 
and  down  it,  which  are  overlooked  and  disregarded  by  the  gene- 
rality of  the  world." 


HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 


FOUETH  CHARGE*  ; 


Inquiring,  in  my  last  charge,  What  the  Christian 
minister  should  study,  I  dwelt  upon  the  paramount 
importance  of  Holy  Scripture.  Its  pre-eminence  I 
proposed  to  vindicate  by  some  notice  of  the  Claims 
"which  it  makes  in  its  own  behalf — its  External  Evi- 
dence or  Credentials — its  Contents  or  Internal  Evi- 
dence— and  its  CapaMlities  as  the  Educator  of  Man- 
kind. Having  then  time  for  the  discussion  of  but  two 
of  these  topics,  I  deferred  the  remainder  until  the 
present  occasion. 

Let  us  pass,  then,  from  the  Claims  and  Credentials 
of  Holy  Scripture  to  some  consideration  of  its  con- 
tents, as  witnessing  to  their  Divine  origin  and  trans- 
cendent importance. 

The  history  of  its  Canon,  the  judgment  of  the 
Church,  the  consent  of  ages  and  nations  most  emi- 
nent for  intelligence  and  virtue,  and  the  futility 
hitherto  of  all  attempts  to  overthrow  its  authority,  or 
permanently  to  arrest  its  progress, — these  may  pro- 
claim that  it  comes  from  Heaven,  and  yet  its  contents 
may  go  far  to  weaken  that  conclusion.  Books  and 
writings  always  afford  some  clue  to  their  origin,  whe- 

*  Delivered  May,  1852. 


108  DISCOURSES   AXD   CHARGES. 

ther  it  be  in  wisdom  or  follj,  in  force  or  feebleness. 
There  are  internal  credentials  not  less  convincing, 
and  perhaps  more  impressive,  than  any  that  are  ex- 
ternal. When  a  book  is  the  offspring  of  true  genius, 
it  attests  the  fact  by  the  spell  which  it  casts  upon  our 
hearts.  So  if  its  source  be  divine,  it  must  bear  on 
every  page  traces  of  His  hand,  who  is  the  Head  over 
all  things  to  the  Church. 

We  are  not  without  intuitive  notions  and  sponta- 
neous tendencies  which  lead  us,  independently  of  re- 
velation or  formal  teaching  of  any  kind,  towards  the 
idea  of  an  intelligent  First  Cause,  and  which  enable 
us  to  discern  in  nature,  and  in  our  own  souls,  traces 
of  his  infinite  perfections.  Hence  we  have  pre-exist- 
ent  ideas  and  great  first  principles,  which  prepare  and 
predispose  us  to  welcome  a  book  claiming  to  be  from 
God ;  and  which  enables  us  to  try  its  claims  by  out- 
ward and  by  inward  criteria. 

No  conception  of  God  meets  the  real,  though  ever 
so  much  suppressed,  wants  and  cravings  of  the  human 
mind,  but  that  which  represents  Him  as  infinitely 
good  and  infinitely  holy.  Hence  when  alleged  mira- 
cles come  before  us,  to  authenticate  the  commission 
of  one  who  claims  to  be  our  teacher  in  religion,  we 
may  at  once  judge  whether  they  are  from  Satan  or 
from  God.  A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot 
stand ;  and  we  therefore  conclude,  that  if  the  miracle 
be  wrought  or  the  prophecy  uttered  and  fulfilled,  to 
recommend  and  enjoin  high  moral  duties  which  com- 
mend themselves  to  every  conscience  not  wholly  seared 
or  besotted,  or  if  they  are  employed  as  harbingers  to 
introduce  one  whose  doctrine  is  worthy  of  God's  eter- 
nal power  and  majesty, — then  in  such  case  the  miracle 


THE   BIBLE   AS   A   STUDY.  "t.    109 

and  the  accompanying  instruction  are  to  be  owned, 
not  as  diabolical,  but  as  divine. 

So  when  we  separate  from  Scripture  its  record  of 
miracles  and  prophecies,  and  confine  our  attention  to 
the  simple  matter  taught  or  to  the  manner  of  teach- 
ing, both,  if  the  book  were  really  given  hj  inspiration 
of  Grod,  must  stand,  in  some  sense,  self-authenticated. 
In  such  a  book,  we  anticipate  that  its  style  and  struc- 
ture, its  principles  and  revelations,  shall  be  at  once 
natural  and  supernatural — natural,  so  far  as  to  vio- 
late no  deep-rooted  and  healthy  sentiment  of  our 
minds,  to  misrepresent  no  well-established  truth  or 
law;  and  yet  supernatural,  because  recording. facts, 
and  inducing  impressions,  and  unfolding  plans  which 
no  human  intelligence  could  give  birth  to.  On  com- 
parison with  all  other  books,  ancient  or  modern,  the 
Bible,  if  divine,  should  vindicate  its  transcendent 
power  and  greatness,  and  should  compel  from  all  gifted 
souls,  not  perverted  by  pride  or  darkened  by  sinful 
passions,  the  admission  that  the  Spirit  that  designed 
and  the  power  that  achieved  it,  could  have  sprung 
from  no  earthly  or  human  source.  And  is  not  such 
its  character  ?  Is  not  that  book  a  phenomenon,  which 
can  find  adequate  explanation,  only  in  the  presence 
and  agency  of  God  ?  Is  it  not  a  volume  which,  from 
title-page  to  colophon,  seems  written  over  and  over, 
with  a  divine  and  heavenly  signature  ?  Look  at  its 
human  authors, — herdsmen  and  shepherds,  fishermen 
and  publicans,  men  who  wrote  without  even  ordinary 
art  or  learning,  and  often  in  the  rudest  style ;  and 
yet,  where  among  the  great  poets  and  philosophers  of 
antiquity,  those  masters  of  language  and  models  of 
taste,  find  we  such  burning  words,  such  expanding 

]0 


110  DISCOUKSES  AND   CHARGES. 

and  soul-enrapturing  conceptions  ?  Or,  to  place  the 
comparison  on  other  grounds,  range  side  by  side  the 
writings  of  the  Apostles  in  the  New  Testament  and 
those  which  have  come  down  to  us  as  works  of  Apos- 
tolic Fathers,  contemporaries  and  companions  of  those 
Apostles ;  and  who  does  not  feel  that  the  one  repose 
upon  a  serene  height,  from  which,  to  reach  the  other, 
there  is  a  descent  as  great  as  it  is  sudden  and  abrupt  ? 
Minds  of  the  most  opposite  tempers  and  tastes  have 
found  themselves  constrained  to  confess,  that  when 
thoughtfully  perused  for  a  few  hours,  there  is  in  this 
Book  of  books  a  spell  which  attests  its  origin  to  be 
unearthly.  "  Read  to  me,"  said  the  dying  poet,  the 
mighty  Wizard  of  the  North,  who  for  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century  had  held  the  reading  world  of 
both  hemispheres  in  rapt  delight  with  the  offspring  of 
his  teeming  brain.  "  Read  to  me."  "  In  what  book  ?" 
was  the  question.  "  Can  you  ask  ?  there  is  but  one," 
and  he  bade  him  open  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  Says 
Calvin, — a  mind  how  different  in  type, — addressing 
scoffers  and  unbelievers,  "  John,  thundering  from  his 
sublimity,  more  powerfully  than  any  thunderbolt, 
levels  to  the  dust  the  obstinacy  of  those  whom  he  does 
not  compel  to  the  obedience  of  faith.  Let  all  those 
censorious  critics,  whose  supreme  pleasure  consists  in 
banishing  all  reverence  for  the  Scripture  out  of  their 
own  hearts  and  the  hearts  of  others,  come  forth  to 
public  view.  Let  them  read  the  Gospel  of  John; 
whether  they  wish  it  or  not,  they  will  there  find  nu- 
merous passages,  which  will  at  least  arouse  their  in- 
dolence ;  and  which  will  even  imprint  a  horrible  brand 
on  their  consciences  to  restrain  their  ridicule."* 
*  Institutes,  Lib.  I.  c.  8,  sec.  11. 


THE   BIBLE   AS   A   STUDY.  ^      111 

There  is  one  characteristic  of  Scripture,  that  de- 
serves an  ampler  development  than  has  yet  been 
given  to  it.  I  refer  to  the  intrinsic,  and  even  mon- 
strous, improbability  of  many  of  the  facts  recorded, 
and  many  of  the  predictions  made,  if  we  are  to  ex- 
plain them  on  principles  merely  natural;  and  the 
absurdity,  therefore,  of  supposing  that  those  who 
wrote  of  their  own  mere  motion,  could  have  invented 
them,  or  would  have  asked  for  them  the  faith  and 
affections  of  mankind.  On  the  other  hand,  try  these 
alleged  facts  and  predictions  by  a  divine  and  super- 
natural standard,  and  they  become  not  only  conceiv- 
able but  probable.  "  It  is  impossible,  and  therefore 
true,"  said  Tertullian,*  speaking  of  the  resurrection 
of  Christ,  ^.  6.,  impossible  to  any  power  but  that  of 
God,  and  therefore  impossible  that  men  not  idiots, 
who  wrote  from  the  dictates  of  mere  reason,  and  for 
purposes  of  imposture,  could  have  invented  that 
which  was  so  essentially  incredible.  This  principle 
admits  of  extension  to  a  large  portion  of  the  sacred 
narrative,  and  in  connection  with  the  moral  and  doc- 
trinal test,  which  I  have  noticed  already,  constitutes 
one  of  the  strongest  guarantees  for  its  fidelity  to 
truth.  Events  and  sayings,  the  most  strange  to  our 
natural  ears,  are  recorded  without  one  word  of  com- 
ment, and  with  perfect  simplicity.  Even  when  they 
involve  that  which  is  most  discreditable  to  the  writers 
themselves,  or  to  the  nation  of  which  they  are  a 
bigoted  and  enthusiastic  part,  they  are  still  set  down 
without  any  attempt  at  extenuation ;  and  in  the  case 
of  the  Old  Testament,  these  records  when  once  made, 
though  throughout  their  whole  extent  they  compro- 

*  De  Came  Christi,  cont.  Marc. 


J12     ^  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

mise  that  nation  grievously,  are  yet  preserved,  and 
guarded,  and  cherished  by  them  with  a  care  almost 
fanatical.  Here,  then,  is  a  branch  of  Christian  evi- 
dences most  worthy  of  our  study  at  this  time,  when 
the  external  or  historical  proofs  are  assailed  alike  by 
the  advocates  of  authority,  and  the  votaries  of  a  licen- 
tious freedom ;  but  it  can  be  duly  studied  only  by 
him  who  reads  the  Bible  with  all  care  and  diligence 
for  himself. 

If  we  look  at  Scripture,  again,  as  a  threefold 
Revelation.  First,  of  God  to  man;  Second,  of 
man  to  himself;  and  Third,  of  nature  in  its  rela- 
tion to  both — we  shall  meet  other  and  more  striking 
proof  of  its  Divine  origin. 

Consider  Holy  Scripture,  then,  as  a  Revelation  of 
Grod  to  man.  When  the  learned  Grotius  would  lay 
a  secure  foundation  for  the  Law  of  Nations,  in  that 
great  work  of  his,  which  may  be  said  to  have  created 
a  new  science,  he  began  by  gathering  from  the  sages 
and  poets,  the  historians  and  orators,  the  lawgivers  and 
moralists  of  ancient  and  modern  times,  a  consensus  of 
passages,  which  recognize  certain  first  principles  of 
moral  obligation,  certain  fundamental  and  sacred  duties 
as  binding  everywhere  and  in  all  ages,  and  which  are 
to  be  accepted  therefore  as  the  universal  dictate  of 
reason  and  conscience.  He  thus  demonstrates,  that 
deep  in  human  nature  itself  has  been  planted  one 
great  law,  which  is  obligatory  not  only  upon  indivi- 
duals, but  upon  nations  regarded  as  moral  persons, 
and  which  can  never  be  rightfully  superseded  by 
custom  or  by  positive  institutions — a  law  before 
which,  power  in  all  its  might  and  majesty  is  bound 
to  bow^  and  under  the  shelter  of  which,  weakness 


THE   BIBLE  AS   A   STUDY.  113 

and  innocence  may  always  claim  sanctuary.  I  need 
hardly  add,  that  the  principles,  thus  laboriously  col- 
lected out  of  the  best  wisdom  of  the  past,  are  only  a 
faint  outline  of  that  better  law,  which  we  jBnd  traced 
in  our  Bibles,  thus  showing  that  the  commandments 
of  Christ  are  re-echoed  in  the  laws  of  our  own  moral 
constitution.  Would  it  not  be  a  boon  to  Theology, 
if  a  similar  course  were  taken  with  respect  to  the 
first  principles  of  that  science  ;  if  from  those  great 
intellectual  lights,  who  have  lived  and  labored  with- 
out the  Bible,  were  collected  their  best  thoughts  re- 
specting the  Divine  nature,  whether  such  thoughts 
came  to  them  from  tradition,  or  were  imparted  to 
them  directly  as  a  reward  for  severe  meditation  and 
self-discipline,  or  broke  upon  their  view,  when  their 
souls  were  most  sorely  tried  by  danger,  suffering,  or 
temptation  ?  Such  a  collection  would  represent  the 
universal  religious  sentiment  of  mankind  in  its  noblest 
and  purest  manifestations  when  left  without  direct 
revelation,  and  together  with  our  own  intuitions  and 
irrepressible  convictions,  would  furnish  a  test  by 
which  we  could  measure  the  probable  value  of  Scrip- 
ture as  an  exponent  of  the  Divine  character. 

But  to  apply  this  test  thoroughly,  requires  a  large 
and  most  thoughtful  consideration  of  all  that  the 
Bible  directly  or  indirectly  teaches  of  God — of  His 
personality  as  opposed  to  pantheism,  of  His  unity  as 
opposed  to  polytheism,  of  His  holiness  as  loathing 
sin,  of  His  mercy  and  long-suffering  as  pitying  the 
sinner,  and  of  the  wondrous  blending  of  wisdom, 
goodness,  justice,  and  mercy,  which  is  seen  in  all  his 
dispensations.  It  requires,  too,  a  patient  comparison 
of  such  teachings  with  the  best,  the  average,  and  the 

10* 


114  DISCOURSES  AiSD   CHARGES. 

■worst,  on  the  same  subjects,  whicli  have  emanated 
from  the  heathen  mind.  No  candid  student  could 
make  that  comparison,  without  rising  from  it  with 
conceptions  of  the  greatness  and  excellency  of  Scrip- 
ture, which  he  never  enjoyed  before — without  feeling 
that  if  Socrates  and  Plato  spake  of  God  as  became 
sages,  Moses  and  the  Prophets,  Christ  and  his  Apos- 
tles speak  of  Him,  as  becometh  God  himself  when 
addressing  men.  Uninspired  poetry,  in  its  loftiest 
flights,  unaided  philosophy,  in  its  most  unearthly 
moods,  how  faint  the  glimmer  of  their  light,  beside 
the  blaze  of  glory  which  breaks  from  David  and 
Isaiah,  from  Job  and  Ezekiel !  Compare,  for  instance, 
the  divinities  of  the  Iliad  with  the  Jehovah  of  the 
Old  Testament,  or  compare  the  invisible  world  of 
Yirgil,  which  no  Bible  helped  him  to  conceive,  with 
that  portrayed  by  Milton  or  by  Dante.  If  it  be 
said  that  through  the  vast  mass  of  fable  and  conjec- 
ture, collected  by  Pagan  minds,  may  be  found  scat- 
tered, confusedly  and  dimly,  the  same  views  of  God 
which  are  presented  by  Moses  and  the  Prophets,  and 
that  therefore,  these  last  may  have  been  borrowed, 
then  we  ask,  whence  the  instinct  which  enabled  such 
men,  and  they  only,  to  choose  the  gems  and  reject 
the  refuse ;  to  bring  together  all  the  pure  gold,  and 
leave  behind  all  the  dross  and  all  the  baser  metal  ? 
To  select^  under  such  circumstances,  requires  as  much' 
of  inspiration  as  to  conceive  or  invent. 

When  by  such  considerations,  in  connection  with 
others,  we  become  convinced  of  the  supremacy  and 
divinity  of  Scripture,  how  readily  may  we  accept  its 
more  mysterious,*  its  awfully  sublime  revelations  re- 

*  If  we  subject  everything  to  reason,  says  Pascal  (Pensees, 


THE  BIBLE  AS  A   STUDY.  ^     115 

specting  the  threefold  personality  of  God — the  won- 
derful union  of  the  Divine  and  Human  in  Him,  who 
is  both  Son  of  God  and  Son  of  Man — the  humiliation 
of  a  Being  so  august — His  Passion  and  Death,  His 
Resurrection  and  Ascension — with  the  outpouring  of 
His  Spirit — all  that  we  might  not  perish !  Our 
hearts  Xjrj  out  that  we  need  such  a  Divine  redemption, 
and  our  conscience  and  our  experience  accord  with 
the  declarations  of  the  Bible,  that  if  we  would  see 
God  aright  in  this  wondrous  manifestation  of  Himself, 
we  must  be  born  again — must  become  pure  in  heart 
— must  be  meek  and  lowly — must  be  content  to  do, 
in  faith  nothing  doubting,  the  whole  will  of  Christ. 
There  is  nothing  more  characteristic  of  Scripture, 
because  there  is  nothing,  in  one  sense,  more  alien  from 
our  natural  'habit  of  thought — yet  nothing  more  in 
harmony  with  our  highest  reason,  and  therefore  no- 
thing more  indicative  of  a  superhuman  origin, — than 
this  stress  which  the  Bible  everywhere  lays  upon  the 
development  of  a  regenerated  consciousness,  upon  the 
presence  in  the  heart  of  a  strong  conscientiousness, 
and  an  humble  fear  of  God,  as  the  indispensable  con- 
dition of  the  highest  Christian  knowledge. 

2.  But,  again,  we  may  consider  the  Bible  as  a 
Revelation  of  man  to  himself.  There  are  depths  in 
our   own    nature    which  no  consciousness    has    yet 

ch.  xl),  our  religion  would  have  nothing  in  it  mysterious  and 
supernatural.  If  we  violate  the  principles  of  reason,  our  religion 
would  be  absurd  and  contemptible.  Reason,  says  St.  Augustine, 
would  never  submit  if  it  were  not  in  its  nature  to  judge,  that 
there  are  occasions  when  it  ought  to  submit.  It  is  right  then 
that  reason  should  yield,  when  it  is  conscious  that  it  ought,  that 
it  should  not  yield,  when  it  judges  deliberately  that  it  ought  not 
But  we  must  guard  here  against  self-deceit. 


116  DISCOURSES    AND   CHARGES. 

sounded ;  there  are  incongruities  and  contradictions, 
before  which,  man's  Philosophy,  though  it  has  watched 
and  discussed  for  near  six  thousand  years,  is  con- 
founded. All  the  systems,  that  have  been  framed  by 
man's  device,  have  failed,  because  they  overlooked 
some  essential  element  in  the  human  constitution,  or 
because  they  misconceived  the  true  end  and  highest 
good  of  life.  Even  those  which  have  been  constructed 
by  men  who  read  the  Bible  have  rarely  had  the  ampli- 
tude or  the  fidelity  to  truth,  which  could  satisfy  our 
minds.  He  who  studies  the  Bible  as  a  portraiture  of 
Human  Nature  will  soon  feel  that,  for  penetrating 
motives  and  revealing  unconscious  propensities — for 
touching  with  bold  and  skilful  hand  the  master-springs 
of  human  action  in  general,  and  the  twisted,  com- 
plicated web  of  influences,  that  surround  each  one 
in  particular — the  myriad-minded  of  our  own  lan- 
guage and  the  greatest  masters  of  other  languages 
and  other  times  are  as  pigmies.  Collect  all  that  has 
been  well  and  wisely  said  of  the  best  poets  and 
moralists  as  painters  of  man,  or  of  the  profoundest 
psychologists  and  metaphysicians,  or  of  the  most 
sagacious  and  truthful  historians,  and  it  will  be  seen, 
by  those  who  have  studied  Holy  Scripture  thoroughly, 
that  all  this,  and  more,  is  true  of  that  one  volume. 
And,  therefore,  it  is,  in  part,  that  while  other  books 
have  been  bounded  in  their  influence  by  country,  by 
race,  or  by  civilization,  the  Bible  seems  to  be  free  of 
all  lands,  races,  and  estates  of  men.  Other  writings 
have  succeeded  in  gaining  an  imperial  sway  over  the 
world  only  for  some  specific  purpose,  as  the  classics 
for  beauty,  natural  philosophers  for  knowledge ;  but 
here  is  a  volume  which  is  at  once  a  classic,  a  history, 


THE   BIBLE  AS  A   STUDY.  117 

a  philosophy,  a  collection  of  Divine  hymns,  a  code  of 
universal  morals,  and  in  each  capacity,  it  holds  the 
mirror  np  to  nature,  as  is  done  in  no  book  besides. 
Dante  has  been  styled  the  priest  of  the  Catholicism 
of  the  middle  ages.  The  Bible  is  the  organ  of  the 
Catholicism  of  all  ages  and  of  all  people.  Its  voice 
gives  meet  utterance  and  articulation  to  the  highest 
conceptions  and  desires  of  the  enlightened,  while  it  is 
at  the  same  time  joy  and  strength  to  the  rude  and 
unlettered.  It  is  the  book  to  which  the  child  takes 
soonest,  and  clings  the  closest.  It  is  the  book  to 
which  manhood  in  its  prime, — in  the  fulness  of  its 
active  strength,  its  far-reaching  thoughtfulness — in- 
stinctively seeks,  when  it  would  gain  the  highest 
wisdom  or  the  surest  solace.  Its  appeals  ring,  like  a 
trumpet  summons,  on  the  heart  and  conscience  of  all 
who  are  alive  to  duty  or  to  the  soul's  eternal  weal ; 
and  when  we  reach  the  evening  of  our  life,  or  stand 
on  the  verge  of  the  eternal  world,  then  it  is  that  the 
still  small  voice  of  this  same  word  is  all  our  stay. 
What  hoarded  wealth  then  does  it  not  contain  !  How 
little  of  that  wealth  has  yet  become  theirs,  who  are 
its  most  devoted  students !  What  a  duty  binds  us, 
as  ministers  of  God,  to  gain,  through  intimate  and 
living  communion  with  its  pages,  the  Divine  art  of 
giving  the  "word  in  season,"  to  those  of  every  class 
whom  we  would  know  at  last  as  "our  joy  and 
crown  !'* 

This  theme  is  too  large  for  an  occasion  like  this. 
It  would  need  volumes  to  show  how  true  to  man's 
universal  nature  the  Bible  is ;  how  it  speaks  to  every 
faculty  and  through  every  faculty ;  how  there  is  no 
constituent  element  in  our  complex  being  which  it 


118  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

does  not  discern  and  own  as  legitimate,  while  it  points 
to  each  as  disfigured  by  sin.  The  grand  problems 
before  which  man's  wit  has  stumbled,  it  solves  with 
an  ease  and  simplicity  only  surpassed  by  its  origi- 
nality. Is  it  the  question,  for  example,  which  divided 
so  long  the  ethical  sages  of  old,  touching  the  sum- 
mum  honum,  the  chief  good  of  man?  Some  held 
that  it  must  be  in  the  mind,  others  in  the  outward 
estate,  others  in  both  combined.  Christ  goes  up  into 
a  mountain,  and  when  he  was  set,  his  disciples  came 
unto  him,  and  he  opened  his  mouth  and  taught  them, 
saying,  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs  is  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven,  Blessed  are  the  meek,  for  they 
shall  inherit  the  earth.  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  hearty 
for  they  shall  see  Grod.  Nothing  could  seem  more 
strange  or  paradoxical  to  the  world  as  it  then  was, 
than  teaching  like  this ;  and  yet  Bayle  the  skeptic 
admits,  that  its  wisdom  is  corroborated  by  the  whole 
history  and  experience  of  mankind. — Or  do  we  con- 
sider again  the  contrarieties  in  our  human  nature,  the 
magnanimity  and  the  meanness,  the  lofty  promises 
and  the  slim  performance,  the  perverse  moral  eye  that 
can  see  motes  in  others  and  overlook  the  beam  in  our- 
selves, the  resolving  and  re-resolving  and  yet  living 
unchanged,  the  heart  that  honors  virtue,  and  the  hand 
that  perpetrates  sin,  the  intellect  that  will  not  be  con- 
tent unless  it  asks  for  truth,  and  the  aflfections  that 
shrink  from  that  truth  lest  they  be  reproved  ?  Would 
we  find  the  key  to  this  vast  enigma?  It  is  all  sup- 
plied in  one  utterance  of  this  Divine  oracle,  God  made 
man  upright,  hut  they  have  sought  out  many  inven- 
tio7is. — Or  look  we  at  ourselves,  so  full  of  sin,  at  God 
so  awful  in  holiness,  and  does  our  trembling  spirit  cry 


THE   BIBLE   AS   A   STUDY.  119 

out,  "Wherewith  shall  we  come  before  the  Lord?'* 
There  is  breathed  forth,  even  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, the  words  of  hope,  "  0  man,  what  doth  the 
Lord  require  of  thee  but  to  do  justly,  to  love  mercy, 
and  walk  humbly  with  thy  God?"  Again,  however, 
does  conscience,  taught  of  enlightened  reason,  insist 
on  inquiring,  how  man  the  guilty,  can  be  just  with 
God  the  holy  ?  Lo,  strains  of  a  sweeter  and  better 
promise  rise  and  swell  until,  in  one  grand  symphony, 
we  hear,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh 
away  the  sins  of  the  world."  "  The  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin."  "  If  any  man  sin,  we 
have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Chri&t  the 
righteous."  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  are  weary 
and  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 

In  one  word,  the  Bible  has  a  balm  for  every  wound, 
a  medicine  for  every  sickness.  What  Hooker  has 
said  so  nobly  of  the  Psalms  is  truer  still  of  the 
whole  of  Scripture ; — "  The  choice  and  flower  of  all 
things  profitable  in  other  books,  the  Psalms  do  both 
more  briefly  contain,  and  more  movingly  express, 
by  reason  of  that  poetical  form,  wherewith  they 
are  written.  The  ancients,  when  they  speak  of  the 
book  of  Psalms,  use  to  fall  into  large  discourses, 
showing  how  this  part  above  the  rest  doth  of  purpose 
set  forth  and  celebrate  all  the  considerations  and  ope- 
rations which  belong  to  God  ;  it,  magnifieth  the  holy 
meditations  and  actions  of  divine  men ;  it  is  of  things 
heavenly  a  universal  declaration,  working  in  them 
whose  hearts  God  inspireth  with  the  due  consideration 
thereof,  a  habit  or  disposition  of  mind  whereby  they 
are  made  fit  vessels  both  for  receipt  and  for  delivery 
of  whatsoever  spiritual  perfection.     What  is  there 


ISO  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

necessary  for  man  to  know  that  the  Psalms  are  not 
able  to  teach  ?  They  are  to  beginners  an  easy  and 
familiar  introduction ;  a  mighty  augmentation  of  all 
virtue  and  knowledge  in  such  as  are  entered  before  ; 
a  strong  confirmation  to  the  most  perfect  amongst 
others.  Heroical  magnanimity,  exquisite  justice,  grave 
moderation,  exact  wisdom,  repentance  unfeigned,  un- 
wearied patience,  the  mysteries  of  God,  the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ,  the  terrors  of  wrath,  the  comforts  of 
grace,  the  works  of  Providence  over  this  world,  and 
the  promised  joys  of  that  world  which  is  to  come ; 
all  good  necessarily  to  be  either  known,  or  done,  or 
had,*  this  one  celestial  fountain  yieldeth.  Let  there 
be  any  grief  or  disease  incident  unto  the  soul  of  man, 
any  wound  or  sickness  named,  for  which  there  is  not 
in  this  treasure-house,  a  present  comfortable  remedy 
at  all  times  ready  to  be  found."* 

This  abounding  fulness  that  there  is  in  Scripture, 
who  shall  appreciate  it  as  he  ought,  save  he  who 
gives  to  his  Bible,  something  of  that  unyielding  toil, 
that  enthusiastic  study  which  is  so  often  bestowed 
on  mere  human  compositions  ?  Or  what  minister  of 
Christ  will  be  able  out  of  this  exhaustless  storehouse 
to  make  distribution  to  every  one  according  to  his 
need,  save  he  who  by  careful  inventory  of  its  trea- 
sures, and  thorough  intimate  knowledge  of  the  mani- 
fold nature  and  wants  of  men,  shall  have  come  to  see 
the  soul  as  it  stands  revealed  in  the  light  of  redemp- 
tion and  eternity  ? 

There  is  perhaps  nothing  more  striking,  throughout 
the  Bible,  than  the  manner  in  which  the  natural  and 
supernatural  worlds  interpenetrate.   Man  is  presented 

*  Ecclesiastical  Polity,  Book  V,  Sec.  37. 


THE   BIBLE  AS  A   STUDY.  121 

as  working  on  in  all  freedom,  and  frequently  with  all 
perverseness,  and  God  is  presented  as  woildng  now 
in  him  to  will  and  to  do  ;  now  through  him  to  over- 
rule even  his  rebellions  to  the  triumph  of  law,  and 
the  wickedness  alike  of  individuals  and  nations  to  his 
own  glory.  From  Genesis  to  Revelation,  God  is  in 
the  foreground,  working  here  by  miracle,  there  by 
providence,  and  yet  man  remains  always  true  to  his 
own  nature,  and  seems  never  bereft  of  his  inherent 
liberty.  Thus  we  see  in  mute  prophecy  and  dim 
shadow,  the  way  preparing  for  that  mystery  of  mys- 
teries, God  manifest  in  the  fleshy  the  incorporation 
as  it  were  of  the  finite  and  the  infinite,  of  the  human 
and  the  divine  ;  prefiguring  also,  how  closely  we  may 
all  become  united,  by  spiritual  bonds,  with  God  in 
Christ ;  how  our  whole  soul  and  body  and  spirit  may 
be  sanctified,  through  the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit ; 
how,  retaining  all  our  personal  identity,  we  may  still 
be  gradually  filled  with  the  fulness  of  God,  and  thus 
be  made  ready  for  that  final  and  glorious  transfigura- 
tion, when,  risen  and  renewed  in  the  likeness  of 
Christ,  we  shall  be  permitted  to  dwell  forever  with  the 
Lord. 

3.  The  Bible  may  be  regarded  again  as  a  revela- 
tion of  nature,  in  its  twofold  relation  to  the  Creator 
and  to  His  earthly  creatures,  especially  to  us,  who 
are  self-conscious  and  accountable.  Considered  even 
by  itself,  nature  is  rendered  nowhere  with  such  spirit 
and  life  as  in  the  Bible.  He  who  would  awaken  a 
love  for  it,  in  its  grandeur  and  beauty,  in  its  rich 
variety  and  boundless  magnificence,  will  find  that 
even  for  such  a  purpose  there  is  no  book  like  Scrip- 
ture.    As  seen,  however,  through  that  book,  nature 

11 


122  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

is  no  isolated  or  self-subsisting  machine.  It  is  full  of 
relations  to  God  and  to  man.  Every  object,  from  the 
blazing  sun  to  the  faintest  twinkling  star,  from  the 
tallest  cedar  on  Lebanon  to  the  hyssop  in  the  wall, 
acquires,  when  seen  through  this  medium,  a  divine 
import.  In  each  we  behold  the  agency,  and  in  most 
we  can  trace  the  wisdom  and  the  goodness,  of  a  pre- 
sent God ;  in  each,  too,  the  marks  of  a  Providence, 
such  that  the  meanest  are  not  too  lowly  for  its  care, 
nor  the  greatest  too  great  to  be  upheld  by  its  abound- 
ing goodness  ;  in  each  an  image  likewise  more  or  less 
distinct  of  some  high  and  specific  truth  in  morals  or 
in  religion. 

And  if,  from  the  poetry  of  nature  we  pass  to  its 
science,  we.  shall  find  that  even  there  the  Bible  is  a 
great  and  most  necessary  teacher.  Neither  telescope 
with  its  farthest  reach,  nor  microscope  with  its  most 
amazing  revelations,  nor  the  calculus  with  its  widest 
sweep  of  inductions  and  generalizations,  ever  kindled 
conceptions  of  the  greatness  and  manifold  wisdom 
displayed  in  the  material  universe  equal  to  those 
which  filled  the  mind  of  Job  or  David,  and  which 
gave  birth  to  those  sublime  utterances  that  must  for- 
ever outrun  the  discoveries  of  science. 

To  read  the  book  of  nature  aright,  we  always  need 
to  draw  aid  from  the  book  of  grace.  He  but  half 
knows  the  thing  formed,  who  does  not  see  it  in  the 
mind  and  hand  of  Him  who  formed  it, — a  mind,  that 
having  once  made,  would  now  forever  superintend  it, 
and  that  may  come  forth,  too,  from  time  to  time,  to 
stay  its  onward  movements,  or  even  to  reverse  its 
course ;  that  so,  when  laws  and  uniform  succession 
fail  to  instruct  us,  we  may  be  roused  to  reflection  by 


THE   BIBLE   AS   A   STUDY.  123 

laws  suspended,  by  forces  disarranged,  and  thus  be 
constrained  to  rise,  even  through  nature  convulsed,  to 
nature's  God. 

Mere  physics,  whether  inductive  or  deductive,  evince 
too  often  a  tendency  towards  fatalism  and  sensualism, 
which  can  be  arrested  only  through  such  teaching  as 
will  keep  the  supernatural  always  in  mind,  and  remind 
us  that  our  pledge  for  the  stability  of  nature  is  to  be 
found,  not  in  the  laws  themselves,  nor  in  the  neces- 
sity of  things,  but  in  the  will  of  God.  The  grand 
secret  of  the  success  of  modern,  as  compared  with 
ancient  science,  lies  in  the  more  docile  and  tractable 
spirit  which  has  guided  its  researches ;  precluding 
rash  assumptions  ;  recognizing  everywhere  an  intel- 
ligent purpose  ;  waiting  for  sufficient  light  before  con- 
clusions are  finally  adopted ;  and  beholding,  in  every 
law,  a  provision  through  which  God  dispenses  good, 
directly  to  men,  and  to  his  other  creatures;  and 
through  which,  too,  by  art  and  industry,  man  himself 
is  enabled  to  multiply  to  an  indefinite  extent  his  own 
resources  and  enjoyments. 

Nature,  too,  as  seen  through  Scripture,  reveals 
herself  as  an  instrument  of  trial  and  discipline. 
The  whole  material  system  of  things,  beginning  with 
our  own  bodies  and  extending  away  to  the  remotest 
part  of  the  visible  world,  is  made  subservient  to  the 
development  of  character — the  education  of  the  soul. 
What  the  garden  was  to  our  first  parents,  with  its 
forbidden  tree  and  tree  of  life,  the  same  in  some 
sense  is  the  whole  outward  world  to  us.  We  may  in- 
dulge ourselves  and  be  ruined ;  we  may  deny  our- 
selves and  rise  through  self-denial  to  a  better  life. 
We  may  ply  the  hand  of  industry,  and  through  it 


124  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

evolve  plenty  for  our  bodies,  and  enjoyment  and  im- 
provement for  our  minds.  Or  we  may  play  the  slug- 
gard till  want  comes  upon  us  as  an  armed  man,  and  our 
higher  powers  are  wholly  paralyzed.  We  may,  again, 
in  laboring  to  supply  our  humblest  material  wants,  so 
proceed  as  to  exercise  and  strengthen  the  loftiest  vir- 
tues and  the  holiest  charities  in  the  fear  of  God  ;  or 
we  may  so  proceed,  that  we  shall  grow  only  more 
selfish,  more  sordid,  more  cruel,  more  godless,  more 
God-defying  and  God-forsaken.  The  Creator  has 
given  us  bodies  ;  through  these  bodies  he  has  put  our 
minds  in  relations,  both  active  and  passive,  with  all 
external  objects,  and  all  other  terrestrial  inhabitants  ; 
so  that  at  every  step  we  may  use  the  material  in  order 
to  unfold  and  discipline  the  spiritual  and  immaterial, 
or  we  may  use  it  to  debase  and  enslave  them. 

IV.  There  is  one  more  characteristic  of  Holy 
Scripture  which  I  desired  to  insist  upon  at  much 
more  length  than  time  will  now  permit.  It  is  what 
may  be  termed  its  capability — its  capahility  as  the 
educator  of  the  individual  and  the  educator  of  the 
race.  In  man  there  is  capability  for  progress  and 
development  unknown  in  any  other  earthly  creature; 
and  in  the  Bible  there  is  capability  for  promoting 
that  progress  without  measure  or  limitation.  Bounds 
can  hardly  be  set  to  the  powers  and  the  knowledge 
that  even  one  mind  can  compass,  if  it  have  time 
enough  and  a  fitting  field.  What,  then,  shall  limit 
the  progress  of  society  or  of  the  race,  working  as 
they  do  through  associated  eifort  and  through  all 
time,  if  only  they  have  a  guide  to  keep  always  in 
advance,  urging  them  on  to  new  achievements,  and 
teaching  them  how,  in  attaining  the  new,  they  lose 


THE   BIBLE   AS   A   STUDY.  125 

not  the  old  ?  Thus  far  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
civilization  in  its  highest  forms  has  not  permanently 
advanced,  on  the  same  theatre.  It  has  kept  migrat- 
ing, from  one  seat  to  another,  towards  the  setting 
sun.  Though  it  has  gained  new  elements  as  it  moved 
on,  and  has  transplanted  itself  with  more  and  more 
power  of  self-perpetuation,  it  is  still  sad  to  observe 
how  nation  after  nation  has  gradually  grown  unworthy 
of  the  trust,  and  has  been  obliged  to  sit  down  humbled, 
amidst  the  ruins  of  its  own  greatness.  Time  will  not 
allow  me  to  suggest  all  the  causes  of  this  mournful 
and  most  striking  fact ;  but,  I  shall  not  presume  too 
much  on  your  opinions,  if  I  assume,  that  moral  dete- 
rioration has  always  preceded  that  which  was  material 
and  intellectual,  and  that  decay  and  weakness  have 
invariably  ensued  when  "  the  salt  had  lost  all  its 
savor."  The  faith,  the  virtue,  the  nobleness  of  soul, 
which  are  our  only  sure  and  abiding  guarantee  for 
the  loyalty  of  individuals  to  each  other  or  to  their 
country,  die  out,  and  universal  stagnation  or  dissolu- 
tion follows  as  the  inevitable  consequence.  Now,  is 
it  not  a  fact,  that  of  no  people  having  the  Bible,  and 
cherishing  that  Bible  aright,  can  this  be  alleged  ?  A 
nation  without  a  Bible,  or  with  a  Bible  suppressed,  or 
a  Bible  neglected,  may  well  decline ;  for  it  finds  it 
hard  to  keep  open  those  fountains  of  high  enthusiasm, 
or  to  maintain  that  sense  of  responsibility,  which  are 
the  best  preservatives  of  society  from  effeminacy  and 
corruption.  A  bold,  hardy,  enterprising  people,  who 
cherish  the  domestic  virtues  and  fear  God,  need  but 
a  generous  culture  to  make  them  steadily  and  con- 
stantly progressive  ;  and  is  not  the  Bible,  whenever 
read  and  honored,  the  fruitful  parent  of  hardihood 

11^- 


126  DISCOUKSES  AND   CHARGES. 

and  heroic  enterprise  ?  Is  it  not  the  palladium  too 
of  the  domestic  virtues,  and  does  not  its  voice  ever 
urge  in  all-commanding  tones  to  the  fear  of  God  and 
to  works  of  righteousness  ? 

The  Bible,  however,  is  not  merely  a  conservator  of 
good  already  compassed,  nor  is  it  merely  an  authori- 
tative summons  to  come  up  higher.  It  is  itself  the 
well-spring,  the  exhaustless  fountain,  of  the  noblest 
truths  and  impulses,  that  have  been  given  to  man- 
kind. It  has  not  only  supplied  new  views  of  God, 
and  put  its  ban  on  Polytheism,  Pantheism,  and 
Superstition.  It  has  not  only  solved  the  awful  pro- 
blem of  evil  in  its  relation  to  man,  and  taught  us  the 
way  of  redemption  through  the  Son  of  the  Highest. 
It  has  invested  every  individual  soul  for  which  Christ 
died,  with  ^new  and  inconceivable  dignity.  It  has 
developed  in  all,  who  have  received  its  great  truths 
in  the  love  of  them,  a  sense  of  responsibility  which 
takes  in  both  worlds.  It  has  proclaimed  the  idea  of 
a  true  brotherhood  among  all  men  in  Christ  Jesus, 
and  has  thus  laid  the  axe  to  the  root  of  the  tyranny 
with  which  man  once  lorded  over  woman,  patrician 
over  plebeian,  noble  over  prince,  master  over  slave. 
It  has  developed  the  true  function  of  the  state,  as  one 
of  the  agencies  through  which  the  individual  mind  is 
to  be  trained  under  God  to  full  capacity  and  taste 
for  all  its  duties  and  prerogatives,  and  as  having  right 
to  exist  and  to  rule,  only  as  it  promotes  to  the  utter- 
most, in  all  its  people,  this  high  culture. 

These  ideas,  when  first  propounded,  met  with  uni- 
versal contempt  or  execration.  Slowly  but  surely, 
however,  they  have  spread  like  leaven  through  bodies, 
politic  and  social,  charging  mind  after  mind  with  their 


THE   BIBLE  AS   A   STUDY.  127 

sacred  influence,  and  gradually  achieving  that  ameli- 
oration which  places  us  this  day  high  above  the 
highest  condition  ever  attained  under  Pagan  or 
Mahoramedan  sway.  And  thus  are  mankind  to  be 
always  taught  of  God.  Thus  have  they  been  learn- 
ing for  six  thousand  years — from  the  Patriarchal  to 
the  Mosaic,  from  the  Mosaic  to  the  Christian  stage. 
In  the  infancy  or  childhood  of  the  world,  it  was  the 
absolute  regimen  of  parents;  in  its  hot  and  fiery 
youth,  it  was  the  fixed  and  well-defined  dominion  of 
law  as  prescribed  in  the  Old  Testament ;  and  in  its 
riper  and  more  thoughtful  manhood  it  is  the  Gospel 
of  the  grace  of  God.  First,  there  is  outward  truth  to 
make  men  wise,  then  there  is  subjective  preparation 
to  receive  that  truth.  There  is  glory  without,  hidden 
from  the  proud  and  self-complacent,  but  revealed  to 
those  who  in  meekness  are  babes.  There  are  laws 
for  earlier  stages,  and  there  are  laws  again  which 
shall  be  fully  comprehended  in  all  their  applications 
and  cordially  obeyed,  only  when  society  through  a 
larger  experience  and  a  deeper  moral  sense,  shall 
come  to  see  their  wisdom  and  to  own  their  sanctity 
and  binding  force. 

What  an  instrument  have  we  here  for  regenerating 
universal  humanity !  Ours  is  not  a  religion  for  a 
favored  family  or  a  preferred  people.  We  are  put 
in  trust  of  the  Gospel,  and  we  hold  it  for  mankind ; 
for  the  distant,  the  benighted,  the  down-trodden,  the 
afflicted.  Nations  in  their  loftiest  successes,  in  their 
purest  forms  of  civilization,  are  but  travelling  towards 
the  ideal  presented  in  Scripture ;  and  as  new  phases 
of  society  appear,  that  Scripture  will  be  found  adapted 
to  each,  so  far  as  it  may  be  legitimate,  and  be  calcu- 


128  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARQES. 

lated  to  advance  each  to  new  glory  and  perfection. 
If  this  book  be  of  God,  then  it  was  written  with  fore- 
sight of  all  coming  conditions  of  the  world,  and  it 
will  be  found  to  have  for  every  one  of  them  appro- 
priate instructions  and  influences.  What  higher 
privilege  or  responsibility  then  than  ours,  who  are 
called  to  dispense  this  word  to  all  who  need  it ;  and 
what  duty  more  solemn  or  more  momentous  for  those 
who  are  appointed  to  study  and  to  teach  its  truths, 
than  to  unfold  such  as  are  most  applicable  to  the 
dangers  and  the  difiiculties  of  our  own  times  !  There 
are  signs  of  impending  and  eventful  changes.  There 
are  fearful  struggles  between  capital  and  labor — 
between  liberty  and  order — between  Church  autho- 
rity and  private  judgment — ^between  spiritualism  and 
formalism  —  between  asceticism  and  sensuality  — 
between  fatalism  and  freedom — between  mysticism 
and  dogmatism — between  belief  and  unbelief.  For 
these,  then,  let  us  be  prepared  by  diligent  communion 
with  this  word,  whose  wisdom  alone  can  be  our  suffi- 
cient guide. 

But  if  the  Bible  be  such  an  Educator  for  nations 
and  for  the  race,  it  must  have  capabilities  equally 
great  for  the  culture  and  improvement  of  the  indi- 
vidual. And  what  could  we  desire  in  a  book,  to 
rouse  our  dormant  faculties  or  to  invigorate  and 
refine  them,  that  we  may  not  find  here  ?  Holy 
Scripture  comprehendeth  History  and  Prophecy, 
Law  and  Ethics,  the  Philosophy  of  Life  that  now  is, 
the  Philosophy  of  Life  that  is  to  come.  At  one  time, 
it  clotheth  its  teaching  in  strains  of  the  sublimes t  or 
tenderest  poetry,  at  another,  in  narratives,  as  beau- 
tiful and  touching  for  their  simplicity  as  they  are 


TUB   BIBLE   AS   A   STUDY.  129 

unrivalled  in  dignity.  It  has  reasoning  for  the  logical 
understanding ;  it  has  pictures  for  the  discursive 
imagination ;  it  has  heart-searching  appeals  for  the 
intuitive  powers  of  the  soul.  There  is  no  duty 
omitted ;  there  is  no  grace  or  enjoyment  undervalued. 
It  provides  a  sphere  for  every  faculty,  and  even  for 
every  temperament  and  disposition.  This  many-toned 
voice  uses  now  the  logic  of  a  Paul,  and  now  the  ethics 
of  a  James ;  here  the  boldness  and  fervor  of  a  Peter, 
and  there  the  gentleness  and  sublimity  of  a  John. 
With  one  it  discourses  of  the  awful  guilt  and  curse  of 
sin,  and  points  us  to  the  only  way  of  escape ;  while 
with  another  it  expatiates  on  the  unutterable  love  of 
God  and  the  attractions  of  the  Cross  of  Christ.  The 
Bible  is  no  formal,  lifeless  system  of  propositions  and 
inferences  and  precepts.  It  is  as  rich  in  the  variety 
and  vivacity  of  its  methods,  as  it  is  in  the  overflowing 
abundance  of  its  materials.  While  it  draws  some  to 
religion,  through  the  ideal,  and  some  through  the  real 
and  demonstrable,  it  allures  others  by  means  of  the 
affections  and  sensibilities,  and  others  it  overawes,  as 
a  son  of  thunder,  by  its  appeals  to  conscience  and  the 
dread  of  an  hereafter. 

And  how  is  it,  if  we  look  to  the  culture  of  the  intel- 
lect merely  ?  How  vast  is  the  field  which  the  Bible 
opens  to  our  inquiries  ?  What  rich  results  may  we 
not  win,  in  almost  any  conceivable  line  of  research  ? 
What  discipline  does  not  the  proper  study  of  it  pro- 
vide for  our  reason  and  our  faith,  for  patience  and 
humility,  for  fortitude  and  moderation  ?  And  in  re- 
spect to  those  momentous  questions,  which  pertain  to 
God  and  the  soul's  destiny,  there  is  light  enough  for 
every  humble,  robust  mind ;  there  is  darkness  enough 


130  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

for  every  proud  and  self-confiding  one.  To  attain  to 
perfect  and  all-embracing  knowledge  belongs  not  to 
us,  who  are  still  in  the  twilight  of  our  being,  and  who 
are  called  to  work  our  way,  through  patient  and  en- 
nobling labor,  to  that  state  where  we  can  see  even  as 
"we  are  seen,  and  know  even  as  we  are  known.  That 
way  will  open  gradually  but  surely  before  all,  who  go 
forward  trustfully  and  manfully  with  the  Bible  as 
their  guide.  They  shall  have  no  infallible  certainty, 
but  they  shall  have  unshaken  and  soul-satisfying  con- 
fidence. To  the  question  of  questions,  "  What  shall 
I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  they  shall  find  an  answer  on  which 
they  can  stay  themselves  in  perfect  peace.  Their 
assurance  will  be  the  gift  of  no  ghostly  confessor ;  it 
will  be  the  ofispring  of  no  sudden  and  undefinable  im- 
pression or  inspiration.  It  will  be  faith  well-grounded 
and  settled — an  anchor  to  the  soul.  It  will  have  the 
witness  within  that  we  love  and  strive  to  serve  God ; 
and  it  will  have  the  witness  without  that  they  w^ho  do 
Christ's  will  shall  know  of  His  doctrine,  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  will  guide  the  meek  in  judgment  and  instruct 
them  in  God's  way,  and  that  he  who  cometh  with  a 
faithful  and  penitent  heart  in  Christ's  name,  shall  in 
no  wise  be  cast  out. 

While  here,  in  this  state  of  warfare,  the  Christian 
must  expect  to  be  assailed  through  his  understanding 
as  well  as  through  his  heart.  He  may  never  hope 
therefore  to  be  exalted,  while  in  the  flesh,  above  all 
necessity  for  seeking  more  truth,  nor  above  the  duty 
of  guarding  against  the  beguilements  of  his  own  frail 
heart.  The  divisions  which  rend  Christendom,  and 
the  fierceness  of  contending  sects,  are  not  to  be 
ascribed  to  the  insufficiency  of  Scripture.     They  are 


THE   BIBLE  AS   A  STUDY.  181 

to  be  ascribed  to  the  insufficiency  of  man's  fallen,  but 
self-confident  nynd — its  insufficiency  to  discuss  without 
passion,  and  to  decide  without  prejudice.  When  men 
rise  superior  to  selfish  pride  and  interest,  when  they 
bring  to  the  study  of  Scripture  a  devout  and  teachable 
spirit ;  when  they  gladly  avail  themselves  of  all  pro- 
per help,  and  look  with  becoming  deference  to  the 
judgments  of  the  wisest  and  best  of  all  ages  and  lands  ; 
when  they  seek  truth,  first  of  all  as  a  guide  in  action, 
and  not  as  a  weapon  for  controversy ;  when  they  apply 
to  its  contemplation,  both  their  intellectual  and  their 
moral  powers,  their  reason,  their  conscience,  their 
afi*ections,  and  an  obedient  will,  they  shall  not  be  left, 
in  such  case,  greatly  to  err.  Says  Pascal,  "  God, 
willing  to  be  revealed  to  those  who  seek  him  with 
their  whole  heart,  and  hidden  from  those  who  as  cor- 
dially fly  from  him,  has  so  regulated  the  means  of 
knowing  him  as  to  give  indications  of  himself  which 
are  plain  to  those  who  seek  him,  and  shrouded  to  those 
who  seek  him  not.  There  is  light  enough  for  those 
whose  main  wish  is  to  see;  and  darkness  enough  to 
confound  those  of  an  opposite  disposition."* 

I  have  thus  indicated  some  of  the  reasons  which 
should  determine  us  as  ministers  of  Christ  to  more 

*  Thoughts,  ch.  xvii. — To  the  same  intent  is  this  among 
others,  from  Butler.  "The  evidence  of  Religion  is  fully  suffi- 
cient for  all  THE  PURPOSES  OP  PROBATION ;  how  far  soever  it  is 
from  being  satisfactory  as  to  the  purposes  of  curiosity,  or  any 
other ;  and  indeed  it  answers  the  purposes  of  the  former  in  several 
respects,  which  it  would  not  do  if  it  were  as  overbearing  as  is 
required." — Analogy,  Part  II,  ch.  7.  It  is  worthy  of  consider- 
ation, whether  the  infidel,  in  demanding  more  evidence  for  Reve- 
lation, and  the  believer,  in  demanding  less  obscurity  in  its  mean- 
ing, are  not  committing  the  same  fault.  ..     ,, .    ,., 


132  DISCOURSES  AND   CHANGES. 

earnest  and  devoted  study  of  Holy  Scripture.  The 
more  we  read  and  meditate  upon  it,  the  more  will  its 
spirit  and  influence  transpire  in  our  preaching  and 
deportment,  and  the  more  will  our  people  be  taught  to 
reverence  and  love  it.  It  will  be  more  attentively 
listened  to  in  public.  It  will  be  more  thoughtfully 
and  systematically  perused  in  private.  The  congre- 
gations will  demand  of  the  clergy,  and  the  clergy  will 
gladly  furnish  to  the  congregations,  more  full  and 
copious  expositions  of  the  inspired  word.  Its  autho- 
rity shall  rise  as  that  of  mere  human  teachers  declines, 
and  we  shall  come  to  learn,  not  that  there  may,  on 
this  side  the  grave,  be  unity  in  all  things,  but  that  in 
all  things  there  may  be  charity,  and  that  in  many 
things  now  held  to  be  as  of  the  essence  of  the  faith, 
there  may  be  rightfully  and  safely  more  of  toleration.* 

*  Says  Bishop  Marsh,  "  It  has  been  frequently  said,  and  very 
lately  repeated,  that,  as  the  Churches  (of  England  and  Rome) 
act  alike  in  maintaining  for  itself  that  it  does  not  err,  it  is  mere 
metaphysical  subtlety  to  distinguish  between  the  petty  terms  of 
^does  not'  and  can  not.'  But  these  terms,  insignificant  as  they 
may  appear,  denote  nothing  less  than  two  distinct  principles  of 
action  ;  and  principles  so  distinct,  that  the  one  leads  to  charity 
and  toleration,  and  the  other  to  intolerance  and  persecution.  On 
the  former  principle,  which  is  maintained  by  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, though  we  believe  that  we  are  right,  we  admit  that  we  are 
possibly  wrong ;  though  we  believe  that  others  are  wrong,  we 
admit  that  they  are  possible/  right ;  thence  we  are  disposed  to 
tolerate  their  opinions.  But  on  the  latter  principle,  which  is 
maintained  by  the  Church  of  Rome,  the  very  possibility  of  being 
right,  is  denied  to  those  who  dissent  from  its  doctrines.  Now, 
as  soon  as  men  have  persuaded  themselvs,  that  in  points  of  doc- 
trine they  cannot  err,  they  will  think  it  an  imperious  duty  to 
prevent  the  growth  of  all  other  opinions  on  a  subject  so  important 
as  religion.  Should  argument,  therefore,  fail,  the  importance  of 
the  end  will  be  supposed  to  justify  the  worst  of  means.    But  the 


THE   BIBLE  AS  A   STUDY.  133 

We  shall  have  fewer  pretended  articles  of  faith.  We 
shall  have  more  allowed  diversity  of  opinion.  We 
shall  be  more  anxious  to  know  of  a  brother,  whether 
he  have  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  than  whether  he  speak 
precisely  according  to  our  Shibboleth ;  and  we  shall 
not  recoil  from  a  day,  when  we  must  own  as  among 
the  faithful  and  the  accepted,  those  who  on  earth  have 
walked  not,  in  a^ll  things,  according  to  our  will. 

intolerance  thus  produced  by  an  imaginary  exemption  from 
error,  is  far  from  being  confined  to  the  Church  of  Rome.  And 
hence  we  may  justly  infer  that  the  same  inquisitorial  power 
which  has  been  exercised  by  the  Church  of  Rome,  would  be  ex- 
ercised by  others  who  set  up  similar  pretensions,  if  the  means 
of  employing  that  power  were  once  at  their  command." — "  Lec- 
tures on  Interpretation  of  the  Bible,"  as  quoted  in  the  Bampton 
Lectures  of  the  present  Bishop  of  Hereford.  Bishop  Marsh's 
work,  entitled  "  Comparative  View  of  the  Churches  of  England 
and  Rome,"  is  one  which  well  deserves  attention  in  our  day. 


12 


TEN  YEAES  REVIEWED, 


FIFTH  CHAEGE  * 


Brethren  : — 

Since  I  was  first  called  to  the  post  which  I  now 
occupy,  a  period  of  ten  years  has  elapsed,  and  it  may 
not  be  uninteresting  or  unprofitable  to  review  briefly 
this  period  in  the  history  of  the  Diocese,  and  to 
endeavor  to  derive  from  its  leading  incidents  some 
hints  for  our  future  guidance.  { 

In  reverting  to  the  names  attached  to  the  testimo- 
nial of  my  election,  drawn  up  in  May,  1845, 1  find  that 
out  of  seventy-six  clergymen  who  were  then  members 
of  the  Convention  and  sharing  in  its  deliberations, 
nine  are  no  longer  among  the  living ;  and  that  of  the 
ninett/'three  parishes  then  represented,  twenty-one 
have  been  deprived  by  death  of  one  or  more  of  the 
deputies  then  present.  Such  facts  constitute  a  start- 
ling call  to  work  while  we  have  time.  The  muta- 
bility of  all  things  connected  with  the  Church  Mili- 
tant, especially  in  this  country,  is  still  further  illus- 
trated by  the  fact,  that  of  the  seventy-six  clergymen 
just  referred  to,  only  one-half  are  now  resident  in 
this  Diocese,  and  in  more  than  one  instance  they 
have  removed  in  the  interim,  but  have  since  returned. 

■^  Delivered  May,  1855.  —  w.^^.-.t 

1  V-* 


138  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

During  the  last  ten  years  (less  four  months,  which 
elapsed  between  my  election  and  consecration)  I  have 
officiated  in  public  on  two  thousand  two  hundred  and 
eighty-four  occasions,  on  one  thousand  and  two  of 
which  the  rite  of  Confirmation  was  administered. 
The  whole  number  of  persons  Confirmed  during  this 
period  has  been  eight  thousand  six  hundred. 

I  have  also,  during  the  same  period,  consecrated 
fifty  churches,  admitted  sixty-five  candidates  to  the 
Diaconate,  and  sixty-one  Deacons  to  the  Priesthood, 
preached  seventeen  hundred  sermons,  baptized  one 
hundred  and  fifty-four  infants  and  adults,  and  admi- 
nistered the  Holy  Communion  two  hundred  and  nine- 
teen times. 

In  instituting  a  comparison  between  the  present 
and  past  condition  of  the  Diocese,  we  should  remem- 
ber that  figures  are  at  best  but  an  imperfect  index. 
There  may  be  increase  of  churches  and  clergymen,  a 
material  addition  of  worshippers  and  communicants, 
and  yet  the  aggregate  moral  and  spiritual  power  of  the 
Diocese  may  be  stationary  or  even  retrograde.  I  would 
speak,  therefore,  with  diffidence  of  any  apparent 
prosperity  which  we  enjoy  ;  yet  not  without  thank- 
fulness that  so  many  signs  of  increasing  activity  and 
zeal  can  be  discerned,  both  among  the  Clergy  and 
among  the  Laity.  One  of  the  most  cheering  facts  in 
our  experience  is  that  the  advance,  during  the  last 
ten  years,  in  the  number  of  communicants  and  Sun- 
day-school scholars,  and  in  the  amount  contributed 
to  benevolent  objects,  has  been  greater  in  proportion 
than  the  increase  in  the  number  of  parishes  and  clergy- 
men ;  thus  indicating  not  merely  an  expansion  of  our 
visible  limits,  but  a  substantial  addition  to  the  strength, 


DECENNIAL   REVIEW.  139 

earnestness,  and  liberality  of  our  older  congregations. 
In  much  larger  proportion,  too,  than  formerly,  our 
rural  and  suburban  parishes  are  coming  to  be  self- 
supporting,  and  throughout  the  Diocese,  with  a  few 
exceptions,  the  erection  of  Parsonages,  the  separation 
of  parishes  which  were  formerly  held  jointly  by  the 
same  clergyman,  and  the  increase  of  clerical  compen- 
sation, indicate  progress.  The  number  of  our  Sun- 
day-school scholars  is  larger  than  in  any  of  our  sister 
Dioceses.  Some  provision  has  been  made  for  the 
support,  at  school,  of  the  sons,  and  yet  more  for  that 
of  the  daughters  of  the  Clergy.  Academies  of  the 
highest  order  have  been  opened  in  this  city  and  else- 
where, under  the  immediate  auspices  of  the  Church, 
in  which  a  large  number  of  the  young  of  both  sexes 
have  been  educated  gratuitously.  Hospitals  have 
been  founded  for  the  sick,  for  the  aged  and  infirm, 
and  for  orphans;  and  measures  are  in  progress,  espe- 
cially in  this  city,  to  enlarge  materially  our  sphere  of 
operations  in  this  department. 

In  1845,  the  number  of  clergymen  reported  as  be- 
longing to  this  Diocese,  was  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
one  ;  in  1855,  it  is  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven.  In 
1845,  the  number  of  parishes  reported  was  one  hun- 
dred and  nineteen ;  but  the  actual  number  that  had 
more  than  a  name  to  live,  was  less  than  one  hundred, 
and  of  these  more  than  one-half  received  material 
assistance  from  without.  In  1855,  the  number  of 
parishes  is  ostensibly  one  hundred  and  seventy-two, 
but  actually  not  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty-six, 
of  which  not  less  than  eighty  are  self-supporting  ;  in- 
dicating an  increase  of  fifty-six  in  the  number  of  con- 
gregations, and  of  forty-six  in  the  number  of  the 


140  DISCOURSES   AND    CHARGES. 

clergy.  In  1844,  the  number  of  communicants  re- 
ported to  the  General  Convention,  as  belonging  to 
this  Diocese,  was  eight  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-five  ;  in  1853  (nine  years  later),  it  was  twelve 
thousand  six  hundred.  In  1844,  the  number  of  Sun- 
day-school scholars  reported  was  nine  thousand  three 
hundred  and  five  ;  in  1853,  it  was  fifteen  thousand 
and  four. 

During  the  ten  years  just  ended,  fifty -four  churches 
have  been  erected  and  occupied,  and  seven  more 
are  now  in  progress.  Between  twenty  and  thirty 
churches  have  also  been  materially  enlarged  and 
improved  ;  twenty-three  parsonage  houses  have  been 
erected  or  purchased,  and  I  rejoice  to  add  that  there 
are  very  few  places  of  worship  in  the  Diocese  which, 
during  the  same  period,  have  not  been  to  some  extent 
renovated  and  adorned.  In  the  City  of  Philadelphia 
alone,  eighteen  new  churches  have  been  built  for  new 
congregations,  nine  have  been  enlarged,  and  nearly 
all  repaired  and  improved. 

There  is  one  feature  in  the  operations  of  the  Dio- 
cese, during  this  period,  to  which  we  may  recur,  I 
think,  with  special  satisfaction,  for  it  seems  to  promise 
the  approach  of  a  time,  when  we  shall  be  able  to  com- 
mand greatly  increased  means  for  church  extension. 
I  refer  to  the  reduction,  and  in  a  large  measure,  the 
entire  liquidation  of  church  debts.  During  the  last  few 
years,  this  work  has  absorbed  our  resources  to  an  ex- 
tent much  greater  than  is  usually  supposed.  The 
sum  devoted  to  this  object,  in  the  city  and  county  of 
Philadelphia  alone,  within  the  last  eight  years,  can- 
not have  been  less  than  two  hundred  thousand  dol- 


DECENNIAL   REVIEW.  141 

lars.*  In  every  part  of  the  Diocese,  the  same  right- 
eous and  prudent  work  has  been  advancing,  and  the 
whole  amount  remaining  unpaid  is  comparatively 
small.  Its  liquidation  will  be  an  easy  task,  and  once 
accomplished,  we  may  hope,  that  the  means  and 
energy,  which  have  been  lavished  so  freely  on  the  un- 
grateful work  of  discharging  obligations  belonging  to 
the  past,  and  in  the  incurring  of  which  many  of  us 
had  no  part,  will  be  held  sacred  for  the  future  and 
rapid  extension  of  the  Saviour's  Kingdom.  What 
may  not  be  hoped  from  the  next  ten  years,  if  the 
power  and  liberality  thus  developed  in  conjunction 
with  that  which  has  been  already  given  to  the  work, 
and  in  conjunction  with  much  which  is  still  to  be 
quickened  into  life — if  all  this  shall  be  addressed 
under  the  inspiration  of  faith  and  hope  to  new  enter- 
prises ? — I  am  aware  that,  under  the  pressure  of  an 
imperious  and  urgent  sense  of  duty,  this  work  may 
have  been  pushed  forward,  in  some  cases,  at  a  rate 
which  induces  temporary  exhaustion.  But  such  ex- 
haustion soon  recruits  itself,  while  the  power  that  has 
been  developed  by  faithful  and  strenuous  effort,  forms 
a  permanent  addition  to  our  resources.  It  is  a  hope, 
to  which  I  have  clung  fondly  during  past  years,  and 
which  I  shall  not  readily  relinquish,  that  those  who 
have  done  so  nobly  in  liquidating  debts  which  have 
descended  to  them,  in  many  cases,  as  heir-looms 
from  their  predecessors,  will  not  be  wanting  when 
they  are  called  upon  to  meet  the  rapidly  increasing 

*  During  the  last  ten  years  nearly  $400,000,  have  also  been 
paid  in  Philadelphia  on  account  of  neiv  church  buildings,  par- 
sonages, &c.  In  the  Diocese  out  of  Philadelphia,  the  amount 
paid  for  the  same  object  has  been  over  $200,000. 


142  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

wants  of  this  vast  city  and  commonwealth,  and  to 
rear  new  sanctuaries  for  their  children  and  their 
children's  children. 

The  Diocese  has  a  great  work  before 

The  Future.     .  .     .  . 

it,  and  it  is  one  which  admits  of  no  delay. 

So  long  as  this  incubus  of  debt  weighed  upon  many  of 
our  largest  and  most  earnest  congregations,  at  once  a 
burden  and  a  reproach,  I  have  been  slower  in  devising 
and  pressing  the  establishment  of  new  parishes,  and 
the  prosecution  of  new  missionary  and  benevolent  en- 
terprises, than  would  otherwise  have  become  my  office 
and  comported  with  my  desires.  This  impediment  is 
now  all  but  overcome,  and  the  Church  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  especially  in  Philadelphia,  wants  but  the  will 
to  move  forward  to  a  new  and  blessed  career  of  benefi- 
cence. This  city  has  doubled  its  population  and  more 
than  doubled  its  capital  in  less  than  fifteen  years,  and 
in  its  growth  and  abounding  prosperity,  the  members 
of  our  communion  have  had  their  full  share.  The 
whole  commonwealth  is  advancing  with  strides  more 
and  more  rapid.  Multitudes  from  difi'erent  lands  are 
thronging  towards  its  mines,  manufactories,  fields  and 
forests.  While  their  skill  and  toil  enhances  our 
power  and  wealth,  be  it  ours  to  see  that  they  are  not 
left  destitute  of  the  true  riches.  In  our  large  towns 
and  mining  districts,  there  are  numbers  frightfully 
large,  who  seem  to  have  none  to  care  for  their  souls. 
Schools  are  opening  the  intellectual  capacities  of  our 
people,  and  creating  an  appetite  for  mental  employment 
and  gratification,  which  must  be  fed  from  the  tree 
whose  fruit  is  for  the  healing  of  the  nations,  or  it  will 
sate  itself  on  garbage.  The  labors  of  philanthropic 
men  and  the  authority  of  law,  are  likely  to  stay,  in 


DECENNIAL   REVIEW.  143 

some  good  degree,  the  awful  flood  of  intemperance, 
which  has  swept  so  long  and  so  ruthlessly  over  many 
homes  and  through  many  souls;  and  minds  that  have 
hitherto  heen  besotted  by  vice  and  indigence  will  now, 
we  fondly  hope,  be  more  open  to  appeals  from  the 
cross  and  from  a  sanctified  literature.  God  is  also 
inclining  many,  who  are  without,  towards  our  services, 
and  a  large  proportion  of  them  have  property  and 
social  influence.  In  yet  greater  mercy.  He  is  rousing 
our  people,  both  lay  and  clerical,  to  a  new  sense  of 
the  debt,  which  we  owe  as  a  Church  to  the  poor  and 
outcast  and  forsaken,  and  He  is  moving  us  to  tremble, 
lest  the  Divine  Presence  be  withdrawn  from  a  com- 
munion, to  which  "  the  common  people"  do  not  press, 
as  they  did  of  old  to  hear  the  words  of  Christ,  when 
his  name  was  cast  out  as  evil  by  scribes,  pharisees, 
and  principal  men.  In  an  unwonted  manner  too,  He 
is  disposing  us  to  relax  the  stiff*ness  of  our  liturgical 
system  when  we  go  abroad  in  missionary  labor  ;  and 
in,  almost  every  conceivable  way,  he  seems  to  say  to 
this  Church  in  Pennsylvania,  as  of  old  he  said  to  the 
angel  of  the  Church  in  Philadelphia,  "  Behold  I  have 
set  before  thee  an  open  door."  Shall  we  fail  in  the 
wisdom,  the  courage,  the  devotion,  that  become  such 
a  crisis  ?  Never  was  a  more  golden  opportunity  held 
out  to  us  in  this  commonwealth  or  in  this  city,  and  if 
we  prove  wholly  unequal  to  its  needs,  we  may  w^ell 
fear  lest  the  candlestick  be  removed  out  of  its  place. 
Two  objects  have  been  kept  steadily  in  view,  first, 
the  consolidation  and  enlargement  of  such  of  our  con- 
gregations as  have  been  recently  established  or  are 
still  weak ;  and  secondly,  the  formation  of  new 
parishes  as  opportunities  ofi'er.     A  third  object  is 


144  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

entitled  to  more  consideration  than  has  yet  been  ap- 
plied to  it.  I  allude  to  the  care  of  such  scattered 
members  of  our  flock  as  cannot  be  gathered  at  once 
into  separate  congregations,  but  who  need,  as  they 
earnestly  desire,  both  for  themselves  and  their  chil- 
dren, the  offices  of  the  Church ;  and  ministrations  to 
"whom  can  be  well  connected  with  missionary  labors 
among  those  who  belong  to  no  communion.  Such 
persons  are  to  be  found — sheep  without  a  shepherd — 
in  every  part  of  the  Diocese.  Already  services  among 
some  of  this  class,  by  District  or  Itinerating  Missiona- 
ries, have  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  a  few  new 
congregations,  in  the  revival  of  others  which  were 
nearly  extinct,  and  in  the  edification  and  comfort  of 
many  sons  and  daughters  of  our  communion.  It  is  a 
department  of  our  work,  however,  which  deserves  to 
be  greatly  enlarged.  I  can  conceive  of  few  measures 
more  likely  to  honor  God  by  benefiting  men,  than  a 
well-digested  system  of  Itinerancy,  which  shall  cover 
all  Pennsylvania,  not  yet  occupied,  and  be  administered 
by  men  of  sound  judgment,  earnest  zeal,  and  indomit- 
able perseverance.  It  might  embrace  the  care  of  such 
feeble  and  stationary  parishes  as  now  engage  too 
large  a  share  of  the  time  and  strength  of  the  clergy. 
When  we  examine  what  has  been  done  in  promot- 
ing the  stability  and  comfort  of  the  pastoral  relation 
\ij  increasing  salaries,  building  parsonages,  providing 
Rectors'  Libraries,  with  free  scholarships  for  their 
children,  and  an  endowment  for  their  families  in  case 
of  death,  the  aggregate  seems  very  large;  yet  it  bears 
but  a  moderate  proportion  to  what  we  need.  Here  is 
a  field  which  may  well  claim  our  steady  and  earnest 
attention.   What  has  been  accomplished  in  it  already, 


DECENNIAL   REVIEW.  145 

demonstrates  that  nothing  but  resolute  effort  and 
faithful  prayer  are  needed  to  achieve  what  remains. 
In  this  and  every  Diocese,  however,  there  are  and 
ever  must  be,  positions  which  can  be  occupied  only  at 
considerable — sometimes  at  very  great — sacrifice  to 
their  incumbents.  No  one  can  witness,  as  I  do,  the 
cheerfulness  with  which  refined  and  educated  men 
and  delicate  and  accomplished  women,  submit  to  the 
severest  personal  privations,  or  draw  unceasingly  upon 
their  own  strength  or  private  means,  to  eke  out  an 
insufficient  salary,  without  being  filled  with  admira- 
tion and  with  gratitude  to  that  God  who  thus 
strengthens  his  servants,  to  give  rather  than  receive, 
nor  without  sounding  again  and  again  to  those  whom 
Providence  has  blessed  with  substance  the  call  to  re- 
member these  brethren  and  sisters  in  their  heroic 
struggle  against  want  and  discouragement. 

In  no  part  of  the  Diocese  is  the  opening  for  mis- 
sionary labor  more  inviting  than  in  Philadelphia,  and 
in  none  perhaps  do  we  so  much  need  to  redouble  our 
exertions.  Here  we  have  wealth,  zeal,  and  the  requi- 
site capacity  to  conduct  missions  on  the  largest  and 
most  efiective  scale.  I  will  now  but  express  the  hope 
that  this  too  long  neglected  work  will  soon  be  under- 
taken with  a  vigor  commensurate  in  some  degree  with 
its  importance.  And  in  this  connection  let  me  suggest 
whether  in  erecting  new  churches  it  may  not  he  expe- 
dient to  abandon^  in  cities^  the  plan  of  multiplying 
such  as  are  intended  only  or  mainly  for  the  poor. 
They  do  not  seem  to  harmonize  with  our  position  or 
our  necessities.  As  churches  for  the  poor,  they  are 
apt  to  be  avoided  by  all  who  do  not  expect  to  remain 
in  that  class,  or  who  are  unwilling  to  proclaim  their 

13 


146  DISCOURSES   AND    CHARGES. 

indigence.  The  rich  and  especially  the  middle  classes 
shun  them  of  course — so  that  too  generally  they  lan- 
guish, badly  supported  and  not  well  attended.  In 
the  house  of  God,  where  His  special  presence  dwells 
who  is  the  Maker  of  them  all,  rich  and  poor  and  those 
of  every  class  ought  to  meet  together.  It  promotes 
sympathies  which  are  none  too  strong  or  active  now ; 
it  secures  that  churches  shall  be  large  enough  to  be 
ultimately  self-supporting,  and  it  opens  for  the  clergy 
that  diversified  sphere  of  labor  which  is  best  for  their 
mental  and  spiritual  culture. 

Tho  system  of  Convocations  for  the  Clergy^  in 
different  districts  of  the  Diocese,  was  adopted  in  the 
hope  that  it  would  develop  a  spirit  of  co-operation 
and  self-reliance  among  the  churches  in  such  districts ; 
that  it  would  create  centres  of  church  enterprise 
and  activity  out  of  which  independent  Dioceses  might, 
in  some  cases,  ultimately  spring,  and  promote  senti- 
ments of  affection  and  fraternity  generally  among  our 
clergy  and  people.  Some  of  these  results  have,  I 
think,  been  secured  already,  and  I  cannot  but  hope 
that  if  the  system  works  itself  out  steadily  and  effi- 
ciently, all  of  them  will  be  compassed  in  time.  Some 
of  the  Convocations  evince  increased  interest  in  mis- 
sions within  their  own  bounds. 

In  my  last  address  I  expressed  the  opinion  that 
this  Diocese  ought,  at  no  distant  day,  to  have  a 
Training  College  for  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  and 
Teachers  of  Youth.  The  rapid  growth  of  our  re- 
sources and  spiritual  necessities  will  contribute  each 
year  to  demonstrate  that  such  an  Institution  is  a 
necessity.  Our  population  is  one  that  can  be  dealt 
with  most  successively  by  clergymen  who  are  familiar 


DECENNIAL   REVIEW.  14t 

with  its  habits  and  tastes.  Pennsylvania  embraces 
great  diversities  of  people,  whether  we  consider  their 
origin  or  their  pursuits.  Every  kind  of  employment, 
whether  rural,  mining,  manufacturing,  or  commercial, 
has  within  our  bounds  its  representatives  in  large 
and  increasing  numbers,  and  almost  every  nation  of 
Europe  has  contributed  ingredients  towards  the  great 
social  caldron  which  is  seething  around  us.  But  with 
all  these  varieties  there  is  still  a  certain  unity  of  cha- 
racter, and  we  need  candidates  for  the  ministry  who 
can  appreciate  the  latter  while  they  are  being  trained 
to  adjust  themselves  to  the  manifold  phases  of  the 
former.  An  education,  moreover,  which  shall  fit  a 
man  to  be  a  successful  and  efficient  minister  in  the 
different  spheres  afforded  by  this  Diocese  would 
qualify  him  for  almost  any  position  which  is  likely  to 
present  itself  in  the  United  States  ;  and  it  is  there- 
fore within  our  power  to  deal  here  with  the  whole 
problem  of  Domestic  Missions.  The  remotest  West 
can  hardly  present  emergencies  to  a  missionary  which 
may  not  be  met  with  in  some  part  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  if  in  an  institution  of  our  own,  we  can  educate 
men  with  the  force,  the  tact,  the  versatility,  the  genial 
temper,  the  unconquerable  resolution  and  self-sacri- 
ficing zeal  which  are  needed  to  win  the  confidence 
and  allegiance  of  the  people  of  this  commonwealth, 
we  shall  have  done  much  for  the  solution  of  a  momen- 
tous question,  interesting  to  every  part  of  our  church 
and  of  our  country. 

In  closing  this  Discourse  I  introduce  another  sub- 
ject on  which  I  hoped  to  have  been  prepared  to  ex- 
press myself  with  more  distinctness.  From  the 
beginning  of  my  Episcopate  I  have  contemplated  the 


148  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

division  of  this  Diocese  as  a  measure  which  ought  not 
to  be  long  delayed.  As  far  as  I  have  had  opportunity 
Division  of  I  ^ave  endeavored  quietly  but  steadily  to 
the  Diocese,  prepare  for  it,  by  developing  the  energies 
of  the  remoter  districts,  and  rendering  them  more  and 
more  equal  to  the  task  of  self-support.  I  have  been 
sensible  that  more  Episcopal  as  well  as  more  clerical 
and  lay  force  was  desirable,  and  that  the  rapid  growth 
of  our  population  and  my  own  advancing  age  would 
render  a  reduction  in  the  size  of  the  Diocese  doubly 
expedient.  So  far  as  my  own  wishes  are  concerned,  I 
could  at  once  propose  a  line  of  division  which  would 
leave  both  the  Dioceses  large  enough  to  occupy  all  the 
energies  of  their  incumbents,  and  I  should  be  willing 
myself  to  be  assigned,  for  the  remainder  of  my  life,  to 
the  charge  of  either  of  them.  It  will  cost  me  severe 
pangs  to  part  with  any  of  the  friends  among  whom  I 
have  gone  ministering  for  the  last  ten  years,  and  at 
whose  hands  I  have  received  such  unmeasured  kind- 
ness. But  delay  would  not  be  likely,  at  least  on  my 
part,  to  lessen  those  pangs  when  at  length  the  time 
for  separation  came,  and  I  should  hold  myself  un- 
worthy of  my  office  and  of  the  confidence  which  you 
have  generously  given  me,  if,  on  such  a  question,  I 
could  be  governed  by  any  other  consideration  than 
your  welfare,  the  welfare  of  those  you  represent,  and 
the  honor  of  the  Saviour. 

An  Assistant  Until  recently,  I  intended  to  propose 
Bishop.  ^]ja^^  steps  contemplating  an  early  division 
be  taken  at  once.  Circumstances  have  occurred,  how- 
ever, which  render  it  more  than  possible,  that  the  con- 
tingency contemplated  hy  the  Canon  which  autliorizes 
the  election  of  an  Assistant  Bishop,  may  present  it- 


DECENNIAL   REVIEW.  149 

self  before  long^  and  in  that  event  such  an  election 
might  be  thought  to  supersede  the  necessity  of  an 
immediate  division  of  the  Diocese.  I  therefore  reserve 
the  -subject,  and  in  my  future  course  will  endeavor  to 
be  guided  by  the  indications  of  Providence,  and  by 
the  counsel  of  such  friends,  medical  and  otherwise,  as 
may  be  able  best  to  appreciate  the  emergencies  of  the 
case,  as  it  respects  both  the  Diocese  and  myself. 

Such  personal  relief  as  (I  am  admonished)  I  impe- 
riously and  immediately  need,  I  can  obtain  in  part, 
and  perhaps  entirely,  by  declining  all  duty  which 
does  not  pertain  directly  to  my  office.  I  have  parti- 
cipated, since  I  came  to  this  Diocese,  in  many  move- 
ments which  contemplated  the  general  improvement 
of  society,  because  I  felt  that  labor  of  that  kind  was 
eminently  becoming  in  a  Christian  Bishop,  and  because 
I  hoped  that  it  might,  if  properly  discharged,  not 
only  benefit  its  more  immediate  objects,  but  also  exert 
a  benign  reflex  influence  upon  our  Communion.  But 
such  labor  I  have  always  regarded  as  wholly  secondary 
to  my  proper  official  work,  and  I  shall  not  hesitate  to 
withdraw  from  it,  in  proportion  as  precarious  health, 
or  accumulating  Episcopal  duty  indicates  the  pro- 
priety or  necessity  of  such  a  course. 

Having  announced  my  readiness  to  co-operate  in 
dividing  the  Diocese,  and  my  cordial  constitutional 
desire  to  see  it  consummated  soon,  I  will  Restriction, 
add  some  remarks  on  a  subject  of  more  general  inte- 
rest. The  reduction  of  Dioceses  to  what  has  been 
called  the  primitive  standard  is,  with  many,  a  favorite 
idea.  By  the  constitution  of  our  American  Church,  as 
it  now  reads,  no  new  Diocese  can  be  formed  out  of 
existing  Dioceses,  if  it  contain  less  than  eight  thousand 

13* 


150  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

square  miles  of  territory,  or  have  less  than  thirty 
Presbyters  canonically  resident  therein  and  regularly 
settled  in  a  parish  or  congregation.  It  was  proposed 
in  the  General  Convention  of  1850,  that  both  these  re- 
strictions should  be  withdrawn,  and  that,  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  Bishops  and  Convention  more  immediately 
interested,  and  that  of  the  General  Convention,  new 
Dioceses  should  be  formed  without  any  limitation  as  to 
territorial  extent  or  clerical  force.  At  the  Conven- 
tion of  1853,  this  proposition  received  the  unanimous 
consent  of  the  House  of  Clerical  and  Lay  Deputies, 
but  was  non-concurred  in  by  the  Bishops,  by  a  vote 
of  17  to  9.  As  this  action  of  the  Bishops  has  been 
made  the  occasion  of  reproach — ambitious  motives 
having  been  freely  attributed  to  them — and  as  it  was 
on  my  motion  that  the  vote  of  non-concurrence  was 
adopted,  it  may  be  proper  to  assign  some  of  the  rea- 
sons which  induced  it,  and  also  to  develop  some  of 
the  principles  which,  in  my  judgment,  ought  to  govern 
the  future  policy  of  our  Church  on  this  important 
subject.  I  was  myself  the  more  free  to  move  in  this 
matter — on  the  occasion  referred  to — because  under 
the  law,  as  it  now  stands,  the  Diocese  of  Pennsylvania 
might  at  once  be  divided  into  three  if  not  four  dio- 
ceses, each  having  the  required  number  of  presbyters 
and  square  miles.  As  no  relaxation,  therefore,  of 
these  requirements  would  be  likely  to  affect  my  per- 
sonal position,  I  felt  that  I  could  deal  with  the  subject 
simply  on  general  principles,  and  without  the  obloquy 
to  which  some  of  my  brethren,  under  their  different 
circumstances,  might  be  exposed. 

The  Resolution  of  non-concurrence  adopted  by  the 
Bishops  was  in  these  words :  "  Resolved,  That  this 


DECENNIAL   REVIEW.  151 

House  non-concur  in  the  proposed  amendment  to  the 
Seventh  Article  of  the  Constitution,  for  the  reason 
that  it  would  not,  in  their  judgment,  be  wise  to  dis- 
pense with  all  restrictions  as  to  the  number  of  pres- 
byters and  extent  of  territory."  They  followed  their 
non-concurrence  with  the  proposal  to  the  lower 
house  (through  a  committee  of  conference),  to  dis- 
pense with  all  territorial  restriction,  except  that  not 
more  than  one  Diocese  should  be  formed  in  the  same 
city — simply  requiring  that  to  entitle  a  new  Diocese 
to  be  established  it  must  have  a  certain  number  of 
self-supporting  parishes  and  settled  presbyters  (fifteen 
of  each),  and  must  leave  not  less  than  thirty  self- 
supporting  parishes  and  twenty  presbyters  in  the 
parent  diocese.  That  overture  was  accepted  by  the 
House  of  Deputies,  and  if  ratified  at  the  next  General 
Convention,  becomes  thenceforth  a  part  of  the  organic 
law  of  our  Church.  It  leaves  the  matter  as  open  as 
can  well  be  required,  while  it  secures  that  no  strong 
Diocese  shall  set  ofi"  an  insignificant  fraction  of  its 
territory  and  churches  to  be  a  feeble  and  sickly  body, 
and  provides  on  the  other  hand,  that  any  part  of  an 
existing  Diocese  which  seeks  to  become  independent, 
shall  give,  in  its  number  of  clergy  and  self-sustaining 
parishes,  some  pledge  that  it  has  within  itself  the 
elements  of  life  and  growth.  Western  New  York, 
when  formed  into  a  Diocese,  had  seventy-six  clergy- 
men. The  Church  in  each  new  State,  it  must  be  re- 
membered, is  entitled  already  to  erect  itself  into  an 
independent  Diocese,  co-extensive  with  said  State; 
and  but  six  parishes  and  six  presbyters  are  necessary 
to  entitle  such  diocese  to  elect  its  own  Bishop.  With- 
out the  boundaries  of  States,  having  this  small  number 


152  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

of  parishes  and  presbyters,  we  must  rely,  of  course,  on 
Missionary  and  Provisional  Bishops ;  and  as  our  terri- 
tory expands  of  late,  even  faster  than  our  population, 
it  is  evident,  that  for  some  time  to  come,  such 
Bishops,  in  common  with  some  of  our  Diocesans,  must 
labor  over  large  tracts  of  country,  and  rely  for  sup- 
port either  on  parishes  which  they  hold  as  rectors,  or 
on  their  brethren  of  older  and  richer  Dioceses.  There 
is  here,  brethren,  a  field  for  our  liberality  and  frater- 
nal co-operation  which  we  shall  never,  I  trust,  over- 
look. 

When  we  come  to  regulate  the  subdivision  of  older 
dioceses,  we  encounter  questions  which  deserve  thorough 
discussion,  and  which  will  be  resolved  in  different 
ways,  according  to  the  view  which  we  take  of  the 
Episcopal  office,  and  of  the  functions  proper  to  it  in 
this  country. 

In  the  early  church,  the  jurisdiction 
Small  Dioceses.        «  ^-w.  ,  .        ^^  .        • 

01  Jiishops  was  naturally  co-extensive 

with  a  principal  city  and  its  adjacent  villages  and 

territory.     Its  territorial  extent,  however,  was  often 

much  greater  than  is  commonly  represented.      The 

African  Dioceses  (according  to  Bingham)  embraced 

on  an  average  three  or  fourscore  towns  and  villages, 

besides  the  principal  city.     Hippo,  the  Diocese  of  St. 

Augustine,  was  more  than  forty  miles  long,  which,  if 

estimated  by  the  time  required  to  traverse  it,  would 

be  equivalent  at  present,  in  most  of  the  old  dioceses, 

to  two  hundred  miles.     Carthage  is  said  to  have  had 

five  hundred  clergymen  subject  in  the  fourth  century 

to  the  same  Bishop,  and  Hooker  adduces  the  authority 

of  Chrysostom  and  Theophilus  of  Alexandria,  to  prove 

that  "  ample  jurisdiction"  was  the  rule  rather  than 

the  exception. 


DECENNIAL   REVIEW.  153 

But  to  my  mind,  a  more  weighty  consideration  is 
to  be  found  in  the  great  difference  which  may  be 
observed  between  the  position  of  a  modern  Bishop  in 
a  Reformed  Communion,  and  that  of  the  ancient 
Episcopate.  The  conception  formed,  under  the 
Boman  Empire,  of  almost  every  local  authority,  was 
naturally  modelled  after  that  which,  to  a  Roman 
mind,  was  then  the  ideal  of  Executive  power — a  cen- 
tralized monarchy.  For  a  long  time.  Presbyters,  in- 
stead of  being  Rectors  of  independent  parishes,  were 
mere  assistants  or  curates  of  their  Bishop,  who  was 
Pastor  of  the  principal  church  in  the  Diocese.  They 
were  attached  to  the  principal  or  parent  church,  and 
served  the  Bishop,  both  as  his  council  of  advice  and  as 
his  subordinates  in  preaching  and  ministering  the  sa- 
craments and  in  missionary  labor  throughout  the  sur- 
rounding villages  and  districts.  I  need  hardly  indi- 
cate the  vast  difference  between  such  a  Bishop  and 
one  invested  with  the  supervision  of  an  American 
Diocese,  where  Episcopalians  form  a  small  minority 
of  those  who  profess  and  call  themselves  Christians, 
and  where  parishes  and  their  Rectors  have  not  only  a 
certain  independent  existence,  but  are,  in  one  respect, 
the  fountains  of  our  legislation,  and  indeed  of  all 
church  authority. 

Such  a  Diocesan  Episcopacy,  being  the  only  one 
adapted  to  the  habits  and  genius  of  our  people,  is  the 
only  one  likely  to  gain  a  footing  among  American 
Protestants.  A  monarchical  Episcopate  which  would 
transform  each  Bishop  into  an  Autocrat,  his  Presby- 
ters into  drill-sergeants,  and  the  people  into  spiritual 
serfs,  is,  among  the  children  of  the  Reformation  in 
this  land,  simply  an  impossibility.     And  we  ought, 


154  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

it  seems  to  me,  to  thank  God  for  it.  A  Bishop  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States, 
•who  is  wise,  will  be  as  jealous  of  the  rights  of  his 
Clergy  and  of  their  people  as  of  his  own.  He  will 
hold  in  highest  estimation  those  of  his  administrative 
functions  which  are  merely  advisory  and  preventive, 
and  will  count  it  more  pleasure  and  privilege  to  fore- 
see, and  by  friendly  private  counsel,  avert  evil  and 
promote  good,  than  to  exercise  the  lordliest  rule  over 
God's  heritage. 

But,  if  such  are  the  functions  of  a  Bishop — if,  in 
his  cure,  each  Presbyter  has  an  independent  autho- 
rity and  jurisdiction  of  his  own,  the  labors  that  per- 
tained to  the  Episcopal  oflfice,  during  the  first  five 
centuries,  have  been  greatly  abridged,  and  the  sphere 
in  which  he  applies  them  will  admit,  in  the  same  pro- 
portion, of  being  geographically  enlarged.  If  he  is 
to  strengthen  the  position  and  increase  the  proper  in- 
fluence of  the  Clergy,  he  should  not  be  too  much 
among  their  people,  so  as  to  be  tempted  to  supersede 
them  in  their  proper  functions,  or  to  open  his  ears 
too  readily  to  the  complaints  of  the  discontented. 
While  he  will  be  easy  of  access,  and  have  a  ready 
"  mind  and  will"  for  all  kindly  offices,  he  will  avoid 
the  familiarity  that  breeds  contempt.  He  will  put 
such  an  interval  between  his  official  visits  that  the 
anticipation  of  them  will  rouse  the  slumbering  ener- 
gies of  the  parish,  inciting  the  Pastor  to  more  than 
usual  zeal  and  diligence  in  preaching,  both  publicly 
and  from  house  to  house,  and  animating  the  Laity  to 
greater  carefulness  for  the  interests  of  the  Church  of 
God. 

And,  then,  as  to  the  support  of  the  Episcopate : 


DECENNIAL   REVIEW.  155 

If  the  efficiency  of  the  office  is  to  be  greatly  increased 
in  the  older  States,  it  must  be  through  arrangements 
which  will  leave  to  a  Diocese  full  freedom  to  select 
the  best  man  for  its  peculiar  wants,  and  to  a  Bishop 
full  opportunity  to  devote  all  his  time  and  energies 
to  the  duties  proper  to  his  office.  Neither  of  these 
conditions  can  be  so  well  attained  as  when  this  sup- 
port is  furnished  by  the  Diocese  at  large,  as  contra- 
distinguished from  any  particular  parish,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  from  private  sources  on  the  other.  If  it 
be  a  condition  of  his  election  that  he  hold  the  cure  of 
a  large  and  wealthy  parish  as  the  means  of  his  sup- 
port, then  the  exigencies  or  tastes  of  that  parish, 
rather  than  the  wants  of  the  Diocese,  will  have  to  be 
consulted,  not  only  in  his  selection,  but  also  in  the 
disposal  of  his  time  and  strength.  On  the  same  prin- 
ciple, he  should  be  the  stipendiary  of  no  one  portion 
of  his  flock  to  the  neglect  or  exclusion  of  the  rest. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  is  to  be  sustained  out  of  his 
own  private  property,  not  only  will  his  sense  of  ac- 
countability to  his  Diocese  be  impaired,  but  the  pre- 
ference given  to  him  over  other  candidates  for  the 
office,  will  run  the  chance  of  being  governed  by  the 
very  last  consideration  which  ought  to  rule  in  a  ques- 
tion touching  so  closely  the  dearest  interests  of  Christ's 
Church.  There  is  no  danger  that  wealth  shall  not 
be  held  in  sufficiently  high  estimation  in  this  country, 
and  in  our  branch  of  the  Christian  world.  It  will 
bode  only  evil  if  it  shall  ever  come  to  be  considered 
as  a  necessary  qualification  for  the  highest  office  and 
honors  of  a  Diocese.  Disqualification  it  surely  ought 
not  to  be.  But  all  the  Church's  ministers  will,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  best  serve  and  most  honor  her  when 


156  DISCOURSES    AND    CHARGES. 

they  are  examples  and  patterns  of  simplicity  and  fru- 
gality in  all  their  habits  ;  and  such  they  can  hardly 
be  expected  to  be  if  they  are  preferred  before  others 
mainly  on  the  ground  of  personal  affluence. 

These  few  suggestions  may  render  it  evident  why 
the  Bishops  desired  to  engraft  on  the  Constitution 
some  security  that,  in  the  creation  of  new  Dioceses, 
there  should  be  at  least  the  promise  that  they  shall,  at 
no  distant  day,  be  self-supporting  as  it  respects  both 
a  certain  number  of  parishes  and  the  Episcopal  office. 
In  establishing  parishes  we  consider  this  a  wise  pro- 
vision. Can  it  be  less  wise  in  the  formation  of  new 
Dioceses  out  of  those  now  existing  ? 

In  our  anxious  desire  to  promote  the  growth  and 
efficiency  of  our  communion,  we  are  apt  to  anticipate 
too  much  from  some  one  untried  expedient,  instead  of 
laboring  to  develop  all  its  means  of  action.  Among 
the  fondest  visions  with  which  I  contemplate  the 
future  is  the  hope  that,  should  a  few  years  more  of 
active  labor  be  vouchsafed  to  me,  they  may  be  subsi- 
diary to  a  twofold,  threefold,  or  even  fourfold  division 
of  this  Diocese.  But  a  somewhat  careful  examination 
of  the  statistics  of  our  American  Church  for  twenty 
or  thirty  years  past  admonishes  me  not  to  expect 
from  such  a  measure  any  great  and  sudden  enlarge- 
ment of  our  numbers  or  our  capacity  for  usefulness. 
The  only  State  in  which  this  course  has  been  taken 
does  not  exhibit  during  the  last  twenty  years  much 
greater  collective  growth  by  our  Church,  in  the  ratio 
of  the  growth  of  population,  than  has  taken  place 
during  the  same  period  in  Pennsylvania.  The  new 
Diocese  set  off  has  enjoyed  the  active  oversignt  of  a 
Bishop  surpassed  by  few  in  qualities  which  illustrate 


DECENNIAL   REVIEW.  157 

and  recommend  the  Episcopal  office,  or  give  effect  to 
Episcopal  supervision  ;  and  yet,  if  we  are  to  judge 
from  the  increase  of  the  clergy,  we  should  infer  that 
its  progress  during  the  last  twelve  years  had  been 
behind  that  of  a  majority  of  eastern  Dioceses.  And 
when  we  compare  the  whole  of  New  York  with  the 
whole  of  Virginia,  or  of  Connecticut,  where  the  policy 
of  Assistant  Bishops  has  prevailed,  we  find  that  when 
the  rate  at  which  population  has  increased  is  com- 
pared with  the  increase  of  our  clergy,  Virginia,  from 
1834  to  1854,  made  progress  quite  equal  to  that  of 
New  York.  I  refer  to  these  facts  neither  to  recom- 
mend the  practice  of  unnecessarily  multiplying  Assis- 
tant Bishops,  which  I  do  not  approve,  nor  to  dispa- 
rage the  policy  of  dividing  Dioceses,  but  to  indicate 
that  there  are  other  causes,  more  powerful  than  a 
mere  increase  of  the  Episcopate,  which  affect  the  pro- 
gress and  prosperity  of  our  Church.  In  some  States, 
from  the  peculiar  character  of  the  immigrant  popula- 
tion, or  from  the  prevalence  of  emigration,  or  from 
the  force  of  hereditary  antipathies,  that  degree  of  ad- 
vancement is  impossible,  even  with  the  best  appli- 
ances, which,  elsewhere,  is  accomplished  easily.  In 
Pennsylvania,  all  these  causes  combine  to  cripple  our 
exertions,  and  nothing  can  overcome  them  but  the 
earnest  co-operation  of  all  orders  of  clergy  and  people. 
That  an  increase  of  Episcopal  force  is  expedient  and 
all  but  necessary,  I  have  already  avowed  as  my  con- 
viction ;  but  experience  proves  that  it  does  not  neces- 
sarily produce  a  corresponding  increase  in  the  num- 
ber and  efficiency  of  the  clergy,  nor  in  the  zeal  and 
liberality  of  the  laity. — More  prayer  for  an  unction 
from  the  Holy  One — more  strenuous  effort  to  glorify 

U 


158  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

God  and  do  good  to  all  men  as  opportunity  offers — < 
more  co-operation  of  laity  and  clergy  in  making 
aggressions  on  the  kingdom  of  darkness  and  debase- 
ment immediately  around  them — more  special  prepa- 
ration on  the  part  of  all,  and  especially  on  the  part  of 
the  clergy  for  the  peculiar  work  which  devolves  upon 
us  in  this  age  and  land — here  is  the  work  which  it 
most  behooves  us  to  do,  and  to  do  with  our  might. 

To  this  work  let  us  address  ourselves  with  one  mind 
and  heart.  The  grand  condition  of  all  beneficent 
progress,  when  wrought  out  through  human  instru- 
ments, is  a  profound  conviction,  on  the  part  of  those 
instruments,  of  their  past  deficiencies,  and  a  resolute 
determination,  with  God's  blessing,  to  amend  them. 
We  may  well  be  grateful  to  the  Author  of  all  good  for 
what  has  been  accomplished  hitherto  in  His  name, 
and  for  His  glory.  But  other  feelings  than  those  of 
self-applause  surely  become  us  when  we  review  the 
past ;  and  if  we  hope  for  the  fulness  of  the  blessing 
of  the  Gospel,  other  emotions  than  those  of  self-con- 
fidence should  possess  our  minds  as  we  look  forward  to 
the  future.  If  we  have  great  openings  and  opportu- 
nities, so  have  we  great  difficulties  and  discourage- 
ments. He  who  can  enable  us  to  remove  the  one  out 
of  the  way,  if  we  assail  them  in  a  spirit  of  humble 
trust  in  Him,  can  easily  change  the  other  into  mere 
embarrassments  and  failures,  if  we  move  onward  in 
our  own  strength.  May  God  then  fill  us  more  than 
ever  with  a  sense  of  our  immediate  dependence  on 
the  succors  of  his  grace.  He  who  is  over  you  in  the 
Lord  has  little  occasion  to  felicitate  himself  on  the 
meekness  or  the  trustfulness  with  which  he  has  toiled 
at  his  work.     He  needs  your  prayers ;  he  earnestly 


DECENNIAL   REVIEW.  159 

asks  that  he  may  receive  them ;  that  for  the  next 
decennial  period  of  that  work,  should  he  be  spared  to 
fulfil  it,  he  may  have  a  double  portion  of  the  wisdom, 
the  zeal,  and  the  self-renouncing  faith  which  come 
only  from  above.  The  clergy,  at  such  a  time,  may 
well  ask  wherein  they  can  be  more  diligent,  more 
wise  in  the  use  of  every  opportunity — more  bold 
and  warm-hearted,  and  yet  more  gentle  in  probing 
the  consciences  of  all  who  hear  them — more  intent, 
in  fine,  on  every  good  word  and  work.  And  the 
Laity — has  not  the  time  come  when  we  of  the  Clergy 
should  demand  more  of  their  aid  in  teaching  the  igno- 
rant, in  reclaiming  the  vicious,  in  giving  personal 
relief  and  oversight  to  the  necessitous  ?  Has  not  the 
time  come  when  we  should  admonish  them,  in  all 
afi*ection,  but  with  all  faithfulness — as  we  have  never 
yet  done — that  the  gold  and  the  silver  are  the 
Lord's  ?  And  will  they  not  incline  their  ears  and 
hearts  to  the  word  of  exhortation  ?  God  is  crowning, 
with  wonderful  success,  the  enterprises  and  the  in- 
dustry of  many  of  them.  Should  not  thank-ofierings 
be  laid  on  his  altar,  bearing  some  proportion  to  the 
munificence  of  His  unmerited  gifts  ?  Should  w^e  put 
our  trust  in  uncertain  riches  when  His  providence 
alone  can  keep  us  in  safety,  or  fill  our  hearts  with 
contentment  and  gladness?  God  spared  not  His  own 
Son  when  our  souls  were  to  be  saved  and  our  world 
redeemed.  Should  we  pass  by  on  the  other  side  when 
multitudes  lie  weltering  in  sin  and  ignorance,  and 
when  a  portion  of  our  substance,  given  in  season  and 
with  liberal  hand,  might  cause  many  a  scene  of 
spiritual  desolation  to  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the 
rose?  "There  is  that  scattereth  and  yet  increaseth; 
and  there  is  that  withholdeth  more  than  is  meet,  but 


160  DISCOUllSES   AND   CnARGES. 

it  tendeth  to  poverty."  0,  that  God  would  put  it 
into  the  hearts  of  the  Laity  of  this  Diocese  to  resolve,- 
in  His  strength,  on  great  things  for  His  honor ;  that, 
gathered  frequently  with  their  Pastors  to  implore  an 
outpouring  of  the  Divine  presence  and  benediction, 
they  might  bring  on  another  day  of  Pentecostal  grace 
and  Pentecostal  bountifulness.  If  we  would  have 
God  honor  us  with  the  gifts  of  His  Spirit,  we  must 
honor  him  with  the  offerings  of  our  liberality.  We 
must  give,  too,  as  we  have  opportunity,  not  waiting 
till  death  shall  deprive  us  of  the  ability  to  peril  our 
means  on  the  hazards  of  trade,  or  to  lavish  their 
yearly  income  on  ostentatious  self-gratification.  May 
there  be  many  among  us  of  this  mind.  May  ministers 
and  people,  looking  to  God,  who  alone  can  prosper 
the  work  of  our  hands,  but  who  declares  to  those  who 
devise  liberal  things,  that  by  liberal  things  they  shall 
stand — may  Bishops,  Clergy  and  people,  in  His 
strength  and  grace,  go  forth  with  brave  and  indomit- 
able hearts  to  the  work  that  is  given  them  to  do. 

Wherefore  consider  with  yourselves  the  end  of  the 
ministry  towards  the  children  of  God,  towards  the 
Spouse  and  Body  of  Christ,  and  see  that  ye  never 
cease  your  labor,  your  care  and  diligence,  until  ye 
have  done  all  that  lieth  in  you,  according  to  your 
bounden  duty,  to  bring  all  such  as  are  or  shall  be 
committed  to  your  charge  unto  that  agreement  in  the 
faith  and  knowledge  of  God,  and  to  that  ripeness  and 
perfectness  of  age  in  Christ,  that  there  be  no  place 
left  among  you  for  error  in  religion  or  viciousness  of 
life. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  BISHOP. 


14* 


A  SEEMON  * 


"I  charge  thee,  therefore,  before  God  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  shall  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead,  at  his  appearing 
and  his  kingdom ;  preach  the  Word ;  be  instant  in  season,  out 
of  season ;  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort  with  all  long  suffering  and 
doctrine."— 2  Tim.  iv  :  1,  2. 

Four  times  does  St.  Paul  appear  before  us  in  the 
i^ew  Testament  in  the  act  of  counselling  those  whose 
office  it  is  to  minister  in  holy  things — once  in  a  fare- 
well charge  from  his  own  lips  to  the  Elders  or  Pres- 
hyters  of  the  church  which  he  had  planted  at  Ephe- 
sus,  and  thrice  in  Letters  or  Epistles  which  he  ad- 
dressed to  individuals.  Of  these  Epistles,  two  were 
addressed  to  his  own  son  in  the  faith,  his  dearly- 
beloved,  his  work-fellow,  Timothy,  whom  he  had 
besought  to  abide  at  Ephesus,  that  he  might  oversee 
both  its  pastors  and  people.  The  third  was  directed 
to  Titus,  whom,  in  like  manner,  the  Apostle  had  left 
at  Crete,  that  he  might  ordain  elders  in  every  city, 
and  set  in  order  things  that  were  wanting.  In  the 
first  of  these  charges,  we  learn  what  counsels  and 

*  Preached  at  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Whitehouse,  St. 
George's  Church  (N.  Y.),  Nov.  1851. 


164  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

exhortations  the  clergy  ought  to  receive  from  those 
"who  are  over  them  in  the  Lord ;  and  in  the  remainder, 
we  are  taught  how  even  they  may  be  addressed  who 
are  invested  with  the  highest  authority  in  Christ's 
Church.  Happy  they  who,  in  attempting  to  copy 
such  models,  are  enabled  to  catch  a  portion  of  the 
Apostle's  own  spirit — thrice  happy  they  who  can 
plead  in  fitting  words,  and  with  something  of  his 
own  solemn  and  majestic  pathos,  the  cause  in  which 
he  gloried,  and  who  can  do  it  with  the  same  inward 
witness  that,  in  exhorting  others,  they  are  not  con- 
demning themselves. 

The  circumstances  which  surround  us  to-day.  Bre- 
thren, how  they  stand  contrasted  with  those  that  sur- 
rounded St.  Paul  when  he  indited  the  words  of  my 
text !  He  was  then  not  only  Paul  the  aged,  he  was 
Paul  a  prisoner  of  the  Lord,  L  e,,  for  the  Lord's 
sake.  Nor  was  he  a  prisoner  only — he  was  a  pri- 
soner at  Eome,  where  the  machinations  of  the  tyrant 
Nero  had  inflamed  the  people  almost  to  madness  in 
their  hatred  of  Christians.  Aftet*  fighting  the  bat- 
tles of  the  faith  for  thirty  years  in  a  spirit  the  most 
magnanimous  and  with  results  the  most  grateful,  he 
finds  himself  now,  in  the  evening  of  his  days,  closely 
imprisoned  and  almost  forsaken.  His  Master's  expe- 
rience is  become  his  own.  Arraigned  before  the 
imperial  tribunal,  he  stands  alone.  At  my  first 
answer,  no-^man  stood  with  me,  but  all  men  forsook 
me.  Still  later,  when  his  toil-worn  but  unblenching 
hand  traced  these  his  last  lines,  only  Luke  was  with  him, 
Demas  had  forsaken  him,  having  loved  the  present 
world,  and  was  departed  unto  Thessalonica  ;  Cres- 
fiens  to  G-alatia;^  Titus  unto  Dalmatia,     His  hour 


THE   FAITHFUL   BISnOP,  165 

of  martyrdom  draws  on.     He  is  now  ready  to  he 
offered,  and  the  time  of  his  departure  is  at  hand. 

Not  quite  eighteen  hundred  years  have  since  passed 
by.  The  Church  of  Christ,  then  planted  in  a  few 
cities  and  struggling  for  life  against  relentless  perse- 
cution, now  overspreads  the  fairest  portions  of  the 
globe.  Where  civilization  has  done  its  best  work ; 
where  industry  is  dispensing  its  richest  rewards  to 
the  millions  it  employs  ;  where  laws  are  most  equal 
and  most  equally  administered ;  where  science-  and 
letters,  commerce  and  the  arts,  civility  and  charity 
most  abound,  there  does  the  faith  of  the  Crucified,  in 
its  purest  forms,  prevail.  Here,  too,  in  this  far-off 
land, — unknown  to  the  wisest  of  the  sages  and  the 
most  ambitious  of  the  heroes  who  lived  when  Paul 
lived,  on  a  continent  where  neither  the  sun  of  civili- 
zation nor  the  Sun  of  righteousness  had  then  shone, 
— Christ  is  now  owned.  They  who  here  profess  and 
c^ll  themselves  Christians,  are  numbered  by  tens  of 
millions;  and  in  their  great  commercial  centre,  with 
one  eye  on  the  Old  World,  and  the  other  on  the  open- 
ing and  ever-expanding  new  one,  we  meet  to-day  in 
Christ's  name  and  in  Christ's  behalf.  We  come  to 
set  apart  one,  who,  like  Timothy  and  Titus,  is  to 
join  with  his  ministry  of  the  Word  and  Sacraments, 
that  still  more  momentous  ministry,  which  involves 
the  power  of  ordination  and  the  power  of  govern- 
ment. The  fifty-fourth  of  those  who,  on  ikis  West- 
ern Hemisphere,  have  received  a  like  commission 
from  the  same  source  and  through  the  same  channel, 
he  is  to  exercise  his  apostleship  in  a  distant  Diocese, 
and  in  conjunction  with  one,  who,  like  venerable  Paul, 
feels  that  the  time  of  his  departure  is  at  hand.     As 


106  DISCOURSES   AND   CIIAIiaES. 

far  as  Rome  was  from  Ephesus,  so  far  is  the  scene  of 
this  high  solemnity  from  that  in  which  our  brother 
beloved  is  to  labor,  and  laboring  is  to  earn  his  reward. 
We  have  gathered  here  this  morning  to  bid  him  God 
speed,  and  to  join  with  our  benedictions  a  few  hasty 
words  of  counsel  and  admonition.  Would  that  he 
were  present,*  whose  heart  yearns  so  warmly  towards 
his  future  work-fellow,  and  who  from  the  fulness  of 
his  watchful  care  and  foresight,  from  the  abundance 
of  his  love  towards  the  flock,  could  speak  in  more 
fitting  words.  As  it  is,  I  can  but  strive  to  reproduce 
the  counsels  of  St.  Paul.  Though  dead,  he  yet 
speaketh ;  and  our  wisdom  at  a  time  like  this,  surely 
lies  in  teaching  even  as  he  taught.  And  since  we 
can  hardly  fail  to  feel  that,  though  bloodthirsty  foes 
no  longer  track  the  Church ;  though  Christians  have 
risen  from  the  place  of  a  despised  sect  everywhere 
spoken  against,  to  be  the  arbiters  of  the  world*s 
destiny ;  though  smiles  now  greet  the  Rulers  of  thb 
Christian  fold  as  they  take  their  official  rounds,  still 
we  must  feel  that  there  are  dangers  impending — 
dangers  to  ourselves — dangers  to  those  over  whom  we 
are  placed  as  overseers.  Let  us,  therefore,  listen  to 
the  Apostle ;  let  us  imagine  him  present  even  here  and 
now,  while  in  his  words  and  in  the  name  of  the  Church 
he  loved  and  served,  we  charge  our  brother,  before 
God  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  judge  the 
quick  and  the  dead  at  his  appearing  and  his  kingdom, 
to  preach  the  Word ;  to  be  instant  in  season  and  out 
of  season  ;  to  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort  with  all  long 
suffering  and  doctrine. 

Something  we  would  say — first,  of  the  duties  which 

*  Bishop  Chase,  of  Illinois. 


THE   FAITHFUL  BISHOP.  167 

devolve  on  the  Episcopate  always;  and  secondly^  some- 
thing of  those  which  pertain  to  it  more  especially  in 
our  own  time  and  land. 

I.  Something  of  thou  duties  which  devolve  on  the 
Episcopate  always. 

1.  First  among  these  in  order,  and  second  to  none 
in  real  dignity  and  importance,  is  the  duty  of  minister- 
ing in  the  Word  and  Sacraments.  Preach  the  Word, 
says  the  Apostle  ;  he  instant  in  season,  out  of  season  ; 
reprove  [or  repel  false  teachers],  rehuJce  [evil  livers], 
exhort  with  all  long  suffering  [though  they  seem  to 
heed  thee  not],  and  with  all  doctrine"^  [as  need  shall 
require  or  occasion  shall  be  given]. 

In  no  way  is  the  Church  of  Christ  more  distin- 
guished from  that  which  went  before  it,  in  the  order 
of  divine  appointment,  than  in  the  pre-eminence  which 
it  assigns  to  teaching.  As  in  Pagan  religions,  the 
ministering  priest  was  rarely,  if  ever,  an  instructor  of 
the  people,  so  in  that  which  God  himself  established 
through  Moses,  rite  and  ceremony,  sacrifice  and  obla- 
tion, were  the  main,  and  through  a  large  part  of  its 
history,  the  sole  care  of  those  who  bore  the  sacerdotal 
ofiQce.  It  was  reserved  for  the  Christian  dispensation 
to  recognize  the  paramount  value  of  truth  as  an  in- 
strument in  the  Divine  hand  for  awakening  men  from 
the  death  of  sin  to  the  life  of  righteousness,  and  for 
sealing  them  over  to  the  obedience  of  faith.  The 
dispensation  of  sacraments  and  ministrations  of  praise 
and  prayer,  became  thenceforth  joined  with  what,  if 
we  may  judge  from  the  precepts  or  the  example  of 
Christ  and  his  Apostles,  is  now  to  be  counted  a  yet 

*  Whitby's  Paraphrase. 


168  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

higher  work.  Do  we  go  abroad  as  heralds  of  Christ's 
Gospel,  and  ministering  servants  of  his  Church  ?  Is 
it  not  because  we  would  comply  with  his  last  command 
to  his  disciples,  and  through  them  to  all  who  bear  his 
name  —  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature:  and  when,  in  obedience 
to  this  commission,  we  minister  in  the  sanctuary,  or 
go  breaking  the  bread  of  life  from  house  to  house,  or 
scatter  the  good  seed  among  those  who  are  in  the 
highways  and  by-paths,  neglected  of  men  and  for- 
saken of  God — in  each  of  these  cases,  by  what  means 
are  we  to  commend  ourselves  to  every  man's  con- 
science in  the  sight  of  God  ?  Is  it  not,  according  to 
St.  Paul,  hy  manifestation  of  the  truth  ?  How  are 
we  to  be  unworthy  instruments  of  salvation  to  them 
that  believe  ?  Is  it  not  hy  the  foolishness  of  preach- 
ing ?  How  cause  them  to  be  born  again — not  of  cor- 
ruptible seed,  but  of  incorruptible — is  it  not  by  the 
Word  of  Q-od  ?  How  build  them  up  and  give  them 
an  inheritance  among  them  that  are  sanctified  ?  Is 
it  not  by  the  Word  of  His  grace  ?  Or,  in  fine,  how 
enable  them  at  last  to  come  ofi"  conquerors  and  more 
than  conquerors  ?  Is  it  not  through  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit,  which  is  the  Word  of  God  ?  Sacraments — 
alms-deeds — devotions — these  are  great  and  blessed 
parts  of  our  ministering  service ;  but  greater  still  is 
the  ofiice  we  sustain,  when,  as  Ambassadors  of  God, 
we  entreat  men  to  become  reconciled  to  Him ;  when, 
before  saint  and  sinner,  we  unfold  the  infinite  riches 
of  His  grace  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Brethren,  let  us  thank  our  Master,  that  it  is  our 
privilege  to  serve  in  a  teaching  church— ^m  one  that 
bids  us  go  before  the  people,  not  with  sealed  instruc- 


THE   FAITHFUL   BISHOP.  169 

tions,  but  with  credentials,  and  a  mission  as  open  as 
day.  Let  us  adore  His  wisdom  and  His  goodness, 
too,  that  where  we  minister,  we  are  bound  to  give  at- 
tendance to  reading — that  we  are  not  permitted  to 
speak  our  own  words,  however  they  may  be  words  of 
soberness  and  truth,  till  first  we  have  recited,  in  the 
presence  of  all  who  hear  us,  two  portions  of  inspired 
teaching — one  from  the  Old  Testament,  the  other 
from  the  New ;  that  we  are  commended  to  the  Bereans 
as  a  noble  example,  because  they  searched  the  Scrip- 
tures daily,  that  thus  they  might  estimate  the  value 
and  justness  even  of  Apostolic  teaching ;  and  that  we 
are  emboldened  to  hope  that,  unworthy  as  we  are  of 
such  a  trust,  it  shall  be  ours  to  speak  with  saving 
effect  even  in  demonstration  of  the  spirit  and  of  power 
to  the  souls  of  men,  if  we  only  speak  the  truth  as  it 
is  in  Christ. 

Never,  then,  be  this  ordinance  of  reading  and 
preaching  God's  Word  neglected  or  disparaged.  Es- 
pecially now,  when  on  every  hand  the  intellect  of  men 
is  assailed  by  natural  truth,  let  the  full  radiance  of 
that  which  is  supernatural  descend  upon  them.  Now 
that  books  are  so  multiplied ;  now  that  schools  make 
reading  and  thinking  all  but  universal ;  now,  when  on 
every  other  subject,  it  is  deemed  praiseworthy  that  we 
are  ready  to  give  a  reason  for  our  convictions,  and  a 
warrant  for  our  hopes ; — is  this,  brethren,  a  time, 
when  we  who  serve  at  His  Altar  who  is  the  Light 
that  would  enlighten  every  man  that  cometh  into  the 
world, — is  this  a  time  when  it  becomes  us,  or  is  safe 
for  our  cause,  to  require  of  men  that  they  forego  their 
reason  ;  that  they  receive  dogmas  which  relate  to  their 
highest  and  most  enduring  welfare,  merely  on  our 

15 


170  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

authority,  or  in  deference  to  our  wishes  ?  Modesty 
and  ingenuous  self-distrust,  we  are  always  to  cultivate 
ourselves,  we  are  always  and  earnestly  to  enjoin  on 
others ;  but  the  right  and  duty  of  considering  well 
the  grounds  of  our  faith,  are  points  not  less  sacred 
and  important.  It  is  a  right  which  we  can  never 
waive ;  it  is  a  duty  which  we  can  never  cast  behind  us 
without  being  recreant  to  the  first  principles  of  our 
Reformed  Faith,  without  proving  ourselves  unworthy 
heirs  of  that  glorious  inheritance  which  our  fathers 
bought  even  with  their  blood. 

2.  Again ;  The  teachings  of  a  Christian  Bishop 
should  always  he  enforced  hy  his  life  and  examfle. 
The  ark  of  God  is  rarely  in  such  danger,  as  when  un- 
worthy hands  are  stretched  forth  to  uphold  it.  Men 
are  not  often  so  tempted  to  distrust  Christianity  and 
renounce  its  control,  as  when  those  among  its  officers 
who  are  foremost  in  dignity,  are  foremost  also  in  pride 
and  worldliness  of  temper.  When,  on  the  other  hand, 
like  St.  Paul,  we  can  call  all  men  to  witness  that  we 
are  pure  from  their  blood ;  that  we  have  kept  back 
nothing  that  was  profitable  for  them,  but  have  taught 
them  publicly  and  from  house  to  house ;  when  we  can 
challenge  their  testimony  to  our  disinterested  and 
self-sacrificing  zeal — that  we  have  coveted  no  man's 
silver,  or  gold,  or  apparel ; — that  our  own  hands  have 
ministered  to  our  necessities,  and  to  them  that  were 
with  us  ;  and  that  thus  we  have  recommended  to  them 
by  our  example,  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he 
said,  "it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive," — 
he  who  thus  follows  Paul,  even  as  Paul  followed 
Christ,  will  win  a  sublime  power  over  the  hearts  and 
consciences  of  men.     Hence  the  solemnity  and  ur- 


THE   FAITHFUL    BISHOP.  171 

gcncy  •with  which  the  Apostle  presses  this  duty  upon 
Timothy  and  Titus.  To  him  who  presided  over  the 
church  of  the  Ephesians,  he  says :  "  Be  thou  an  ex- 
ample of  the  helievers  in  word,  in  conversation,  in 
charity,  in  spirit  (or  spirituality),  in  faith,  in  purity. 
Thou,  0  man  of  God,  flee  these  things,  i.  e.,  covet- 
ousness ;  follow  after  righteousness,  godliness,  faith, 
love,  patience,  meekness — fight  the  good  fight  of  faith, 
lay  hold  on  eternal  life."  To  him  whom  he  had  left 
in  Crete,  he  says :  "  Show  thyself  in  all  things  a  pat- 
tern of  good  works,  that  he  that  is  of  the  contrary 
part  may  be  ashamed,  having  no  evil  thing  to  say  of 
you." 

Still  more  explicitly  (though  indirectly),  does  St. 
Paul  enjoin  on  Bishops  this  duty  of  being  ensamples 
to  the  flock,  when  he  describes  on  whom  alone  they 
should  lay  hands ;  when  he  sketches  that  ideal  to- 
wards which  every  candidate  for  Holy  Orders,  and 
every  minister,  even  of  the  lowest  grade,  should  aspire. 
Is  it  of  Deacons  that  the  Apostle  writes — he  declares 
(and  if  of  them,  how  much  more  of  Bishops),  that 
they  should  not  he  covetous  ;  not  greedy  of  filthy 
lucre  ;  not  given  to  much  wine  ;  not  double-tongued. 
Would  he  represent  what  they  should  be,  he  says, 
Deacons  must  he  hlameless ;  and  if  Deacons,  how 
much  more  they  who  sustain  the  highest  place  in  the 
Sacred  Hierarchy  ?  Deacons,  again,  must  he  grave  ; 
must  rule  their  children  and  their  own  houses  well ; 
must  hold  the  mystery  of  the  faith  in  a  good  con- 
science.— And  so  of  Elders,  or,  as  in  the  language  of 
our  day  and  Church,  we  should  term  them.  Presby- 
ters. They  are  to  be  no  brawlers  ;  how  much  less 
those  who  are  over  them  in  the  Lord  ?     They  are  not 


172  DISCOURSES   AND    CHARGES. 

to  be  greedy  of  gain  ;  they  are  not  to  he  given  to 
wine ;  they  are  not  to  he  accused  of  riot ;  not  unruly  ; 
no  novices;  not  self-willed;  not  soon  angry.  On 
the  other  hand,  what  in  St.  Paul's  estimation  should 
Presbyters  strive  to  be  in  all  godly  conversation  ? 
They,  and  since  the  inferior  orders  subsist  in  the 
superior.  Bishops  must  be  under  at  least  equal  obli- 
gations: they  must  be  vigilant;  soher ;  patient;  just; 
holy ;  temperate;  hlameless ;  lovers  of  hospitality ; 
lovers  of  good  men — ruling  well  their  own  houses; 
apt  to  teach — having  a  good  report  of  them  that  are 
without. 

Sad  will  it  be  for  the  Church,  when  these  moral 
qualifications  are  not  exacted  of  our  ministry  more 
stringently  than  we  exact  even  talent  or  learning ; 
and  still  more  sad  and  ominous  of  ill,  will  be  the  day, 
when  it  shall  be  thought  that  our  appointed  rulers 
and  constituted  heads  are  not  under  an  obligation  to 
cultivate  such  virtues — more  solemn  and  more  bind- 
ing than  any  which  can  rest  on  Presbyters  or  Dea- 
cons. "  It  cannot  be  denied,"  says  Lord  Bacon, 
when  writing  of  the  Controversies  of  the  Church,  "  but 
that  the  imperfections  in  the  conversation  and  govern- 
ment of  those  who  have  chief  place  in  the  Church, 
have  ever  been  principal  causes  and  motives  of 
schisms  and  divisions.  For  whilst  the  Bishops  and 
governors  of  the  Church  continue  full  of  knowledge 
and  good  works  ;  whilst  they  feed  the  flock  indeed  ; 
whilst  they  deal  with  secular  states  in  all  liberty  and 
resolution,  according  to  the  majesty  of  their  calling 
and  the  precious  care  of  souls  imposed  upon  them,  so 
long  the  Church  is  situated  as  it  were  upon  a  hill — no 
man  maketh  question  of  it,  or  seeketh  to  depart  from 


THE   FAITHFUL   BISHOP.  173 

it ;  but  when  these  virtues  in  the  fathers  and  leaders 
of  the  Church  have  lost  their  light,  and  that  they  wax 
worldly,  lovers  of  themselves  and  pleasers  of  men, 
then  men  begin  to  grope  for  the  Church  as  in  the 
dark.  They  are  in  doubt  whether  they  are  succes- 
sors of  the  Apostles  or  of  the  Pharisees.  Yea,  however 
they  sit  in  Moses'  seat,  they  can  never  speak  as  hav- 
ing authority,  because  they  have  lost  their  reputation 
in  the  consciences  of  men  by  declining  their  steps 
from  the  way  which  they  trace  out  to  others,  so  as 
men  had  need  continually  have  sounding  in  their  ears 
this  same  'go  not  out,'  so  ready  are  they  to  depart 
from  the  Church  upon  every  voice ;  and  therefore  it 
is  truly  noted  by  one,  who  did  write  as  a  natural 
man,  that  the  humility  of  the  friars  did  for  a  great 
time  maintain  and  bear  out  the  irreligion  of  Bishops 
and  Prelates." 

3.  Thus  far,  we  have  spoken  of  duties  which  per- 
tain both  to  Presbyters  and  Bishops,  but  which  de- 
volve on  the  latter  with  greater  weight  of  obligation, 
inasmuch  as  they  are  charged  with  more  of  dignity 
and  authority.  I  come  now  to  say  one  word  of  duties 
which  are  peculiar  to  the  Episcopate,  and  which  the 
Apostle  designates  in  language  like  this :  Commit 
that  which  thou  hast  heard  to  faithful  men,  who  shall 
be  able  to  teach  others  also.  Lay  hands  suddenly  on 
no  man,  lest  thou  be  partaker  of  other  mens  sins. 
Charge  them,  i.  e.  Elders,  that  they  teach  no  other 
doctrine,  nor  give  heed  to  fables  and  endless  genealo- 
gies and  contentions  and  strivings  about  the  law  ;  for 
they  are  unprofitable  and  vain.  Against  an  elder, 
receive  not  an  accusation  but  before  two  or  three  wit- 
nesses.    Them  that  sin,  rebuke  before  all,  that  others 

15* 


It4  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

may  fear ;  not  referring  one  before  the  other,  doing 
nothing  by  partiality.  Count  them  worthy  of  double 
honor  who  rule  well,  especially  they  who  labor  in 
word  and  doctrine.  These  passages  recognize  all  the 
duties  which  are  peculiar  to  the  Episcopal  office, — the 
power  of  ordination  in  respect  to  the  clergy,  and 
powers  of  discipline  and  supervision  in  respect  to 
both  clergy  and  people. 

In  proportion  as  the  welfare  of  the  Church  depends 
on  the  number  and  qualifications  of  its  clergy,  in  the 
same  proportion  does  the  training  of  candidates  for 
the  ministry,  their  consecration  to  the  sacred  office, 
and  their  subsequent  direction,  become  one  of  the 
most  momentous  of  a  Bishop's  duties.  This  duty, 
enjoined  by  Scripture,  is  still  more  circumstantially 
defined  in  ancient  canons  and  in  the  legislation  of 
our  own  and  our  mother  Church.  And  never,  my 
friends,  was  the  duty  more  urgent  than  now.  The 
restless  activity  which  now  possesses  the  minds  of 
men,  the  celerity  with  which  public  opinion  forms 
itself,  and  the  unexampled  power  with  which  it  acts 
in  evefy  scene  and  relation  of  life,  require  that  minis- 
ters of  the  sanctuary  should  be  multiplied,  and  that 
they  should  be  men  of  robust  minds  and  unspotted 
virtue.  In  our  own  land,  the  amazing  progress  of 
our  native  population  ;  the  vast  influx  of  those  reared 
under  other  institutions ;  the  constant  expansion 
of  our  enterprise  and  industry ;  the  ever  growing 
extent  of  our  territory,  make  this  demand  yet  more 
pressing  and  imperative.  What  must  befall  the  faith 
and  order  of  a  Church,  which  has  no  ministry  able  to 
cope  with  the  emergencies  of  our  position,  and  how 
can  such  a  ministry  be  hoped  for,  unless  the  Bishops 


THE  FAITHFUL  BISHOP.  175 

and  Fathers  of  the  Church  are  bent  through  prayers 
and  pains  in  Christ  upon  obtaining  it  ?  Do  we  not 
suffer  greatly  for  want  of  more  laborers  to  reap 
fields,  whitening  to  the  harvest  ?  Do  we  not  suffer 
still  more  for  want  of  laborers  who  can  endure 
hardness — who  combine  the  requisite  force  and  forti- 
tude with  prudence ;  with  sagacity ;  with  humble  faith 
in  God  ?  Oh,  then,  for  prayers  to  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest,  that  He  would  send  forth  laborers  into  His 
harvest !  Oh,  for  diligence  and  discrimination  on  the 
part  of  pastors,  in  seeking  out  and  inclining  towards 
the  ministry,  those  whom  nature  and  grace  seem  to 
have  rendered  meet  for  it.  And,  oh,  that  we  who 
have  been  charged  with  the  duty. of  "ordaining,  send- 
ing, or  laying  hands  upon  others,"  might  be  stirred 
up  to  greater  diligence  in  so  momentous  a  work  ! 
"  We  are  not  only  watchmen,"  says  another,  "  to 
watch  over  the  flock,  but  likewise  over  the  watchmen 
themselves.  We  keep  the  door  of  the  sanctuary,  and 
will  have  much  to  answer  for,  if  through  our  remiss- 
ness or  feeble  easiness — if  by  trusting  the  examina- 
tion of  those  we  ordain  to  others,  and  yielding  to  in- 
tercession and  importunity,  we  bring  any  into  the 
service  of  the  Church  who  are  not  duly  qualified  for 
it.  In  this,  we  must  harden  ourselves  and  become 
inexorable,  if  we  will  not  partake  in  other  men's  sins, 
and  in  the  mischiefs  that  these  may  bring  upon  the 
Church.  It  is  a  false  pity,  and  a  cruel  compassion,  if 
we  suffer  any  considerations  to  prevail  upon  us  in  this 
matter,  but  those  which  the  Gospel  directs.  The 
longer  that  we  know  them  before  we  ordain  them  ; 
the  more  that  we  sift  them ;  and  the  greater  variety 
of  trials  through  which  we  may  make  them  pass,  we  do, 
thereby,  both  secure  the  quiet  of  our  own  consciences 


176  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

the  more,  as  well  as  the  dignity  of  holy  things,  and 
the  true  interest  of  religion  and  the  Church  :  for  these 
two  interests  must  never  be  separated  ;  and  they  are 
but  one  and  the  same  in  themselves  ;  and  what  God 
has  joined  together,  we  must  never  set  asunder. 

"  We  must  be  setting  constantly  before  our  clergy 
their  obligations  to  the  several  parts  of  their  duty ; 
we  must  lay  these  upon  them  when  we  institute  Or 
collate  them  to  churches  in  the  solemnest  manner, 
and  with  the  weightiest  words  we  can  find.  We  must 
then  lay  the  importance  of  the  care  of  souls  before 
them,  and  adjure  them,  as  they  will  answer  to  God 
in  the  great  day,  in  which  we  must  appear  to  witness 
against  them,  that  they  will  seriously  consider  and 
observe  their  ordination  vows,  and  that  they  will 
apply  themselves  wholly  to  that  one  thing.  We  must 
keep  an  eye  upon  them  continually,  and  be  applying 
reproofs,  exhortations,  and  encouragements,  as  occa- 
sion ofiers ;  we  must  enter  into  all  their  concerns, 
and  espouse  every  interest  of  that  part  of  the  Church 
that  is  assigned  to  their  care  ;  we  must  see  them  as 
oft  as  we  can,  and  encourage  them  to  come  frequently 
to  us,  and  must  live  in  all  things  with  them  as  a  father 
with  his  children.  And  that  everything  we  say  to 
stir  them  up  to  their  duty  may  have  its  due  weight, 
we  must  take  care  so  to  order  ourselves,  that  they 
may  evidently  see  that  we  are  careful  to  do  our  own. 
We  must  enter  into  all  the  parts  of  the  worship  of 
God  with  them  ;  not  thinking  ourselves  too  good  for 
any  piece  of  service  that  may  be  done ;  visiting  the 
sick,  admitting  poor  and  indigent  persons,  or  such  as 
are  troubled  in  mind,  to  come  to  us  ;  preaching  oft, 
catechizing,  and  confirming  frequently ;  and  living  in 


THE   FAITHFUL   BISHOP.  177 

all  things  like  men  that  study  to  fulfil  their  ministry, 
and  to  do  the  work  of  evangelists.* 

*  "  There  has  been  of  late  an  opinion  much  favored  by  some 
great  men  in  our  Church,  that  the  Bishop  is  the  sole  pastor  of 
his  diocese;  that  the  care  of  all  the  souls  is  singly  in  him,  and 
that  all  the  incumbents  in  churches  are  only  his  curates  in  the  dif- 
ferent parts  of  his  parish  (which  was  the  ancient  designation  of 
his  diocese).  I  know  there  are  a  great  many  passages  brought 
from  antiquity  to  favor  this  :  I  will  not  enter  into  the  question 
— No !  not  so  far  as  to  give  my  own  opinion  of  it.  This  is 
certain,  that  such  as  are  persuaded  of  it,  ought  thereby  to  con- 
sider themselves  as  under  very  great  and  strict  obligations  to 
constant  labor  and  diligence  ;  otherwise  it  will  be  thought  that 
they  only  favor  this  opinion  because  it  increases  their  authority, 
without  considering  that  necessary  consequence  that  follows 
upon  it. 

"  But  I  will  go  no  further  upon  this  subject  at  this  time ; 
having  said  so  much  only  that  I  may  not  fall  under  that  heavy 
censure  of  our  Saviour's  with  relation  to  the  Scribes  and  Phari- 
sees, that  they  did  bind  heavy  burdens  and  grievous  to  be  borne, 
upon  others  ;  and  laid  them  upon  men's  shoulders,  when  they 
themselves*' would  not  move  them  with  one  of  their  fingers.  I 
must  leave  the  whole  matter  with  my  readers.  I  have  now  laid 
together  with  great  simplicity,  what  has  been  the  chief  subject 
of  my  thoughts  for  above  thirty  years.  I  was  formed  to  them 
by  a  Bishop*  that  had  the  greatest  elevation  of  soul ;  the  largest 
compass  of  knowledge  ;  the  most  mortified  and  most  heavenly 
disposition,  that  I  ever  yet  saw  in  mortal ;  that  had  the  greatest 
parts,  as  well  as  virtues,  with  the  perfectest  humility,  that  I  ever 
saw  in  man  ;  and  had  a  sublime  strain  in  preaching,  with  so 
grave  a  gesture,  and  such  a  majesty  of  thought  and  language, 
and  of  pronunciation,  that  I  never  once  saw  a  wandering  eye 
where  he  preached,  and  have  seen  whole  assemblies  often  melt 
into  tears  before  him  ;  and  of  whom  I  can  say  with  great  truth, 
that  in  a  free  and  frequent  conversation  with  him ,  for  above  two- 
and-twenty  years,  I  never  knew  him  say  an  idle  word  (that  had 
not  a  direct  tendency  to  edification)  j  and  I  never  once  saw  him 

*  Archbishop  Leighton. 


178  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

II.  We  hare  thus  spoken  of  duties  wliich  pertain 
to  the  oflSce  of  a  Bishop,  everywhere  and  through  all 
time.  I  come  now,  to  speak  of  those  which  seem  to 
be  imposed  by  the  condition  in  which  we  are  placed 
by  the  providence  of  God  in  this  country.  Time  will 
not  permit  me  to  enlarge  upon  this  topic  as  I  would ; 
but  there  are  four  qualities,  which  ought,  as  it  seems 
to  me,  to  distinguish  our  clergy  of  every  grade,  but 
which  they  ought  to  possess  in  a  pre-eminent  degree, 
who  are  overseers  of  the  flock. 

The  first  of  these,  is  earnestness  of  mind.  If  ever 
there  was  an  age,  or  a  land,  where  the  Christian 
Church  needed  not  drones,  but  workers, — not  idle 
dreamers,  but  stern  and  enthusiastic  doers  of  the 
word,  it  is  surely  here  and  now.  Inquiry — action — 
progress,  are  the  watchwords  of  our  day.  What  re- 
volutions have  not  the  last  fifty  years  achieved  in  the 
science,  the  philosophy,  the  material  condition  of  all 
Christian  and  civilized  nations  ?  What  vicissitudes 
still  more  stupendous  and  eventful,  have  not  trans- 
pired in  the  social  and  political  condition  of  those 
who  dwell  on  this  newly-found  continent  ?  Every- 
where around  us,  the  human  mind  is  astir.  Opinions, 
the  most  conflicting,  ferment  and  strive  for  mastery. 
Questions  long  thought  to  be  settled  are  re-opened, 

in  any  other  temper,  but  that  which  I  wished  to  be  in,  in  the 
last  minutes  of  my  life.  For  that  pattern  which  I  saw  in  him, 
and  for  that  conversation  which  I  had  with  him,  I  know  how 
much  I  have  to  answer  to  God  ;  and  though  my  reflecting  on 
that  which  I  knew  in  him,  gives  me  just  cause  of  being  deeply 
humbled  in  myself,  and  before  God  ;  yet  I  feel  no  more  sensible 
pleasure  in  anything,  than  in  going  over  in  my  thoughts  all  that 
I  saw  and  observed  in  him."* 

*  Burnell's  Pastoral  Care. 


THE  FAITHFUL  BISHOP.  179 

and  debated  with  intense  eagerness.  Freest  scope 
is  afforded  for  discussion  and  action  in  every  sphere, 
and  all  under  the  influence  of  hopes  and  anticipations 
more  brilliant  and  aspiring,  than  have  moved  the 
world  for  ages.  The  time  seems  now  to  have  come, 
when  the  honors  of  the  world  wait  upon  the  workers 
of  the  world — upon  those  who  are  indeed  workers ; 
who  tax  their  noblest  powers  to  reach  the  truth  and 
to  apprehend  aright  their  duty,  and  who  then  summon 
all  their  energies  to  "fulfil  the  same." 

Who  can  look  over  the  present  and  the  impending 
future  of  this  continent,  and  not  feel  at  his  heart  the 
spirit-stirring  call  to  rise  and  show  himself  a  man  ? 
Who  can  look  at  the  clear  mission  of  our  own  Church, 
and  not  own  that  the  next  twenty  years  are  to  decide 
its  position  and  its  influence,  for  generations  to  come 
— especially  its  position  amidst  the  valleys  and 
prairies  of  the  West  ?  And  even  here,  in  our  Atlan- 
tic States,  has  she  not  a  momentous  duty  assigned 
to  her  ?  Through  literature,  she  is  to  leaven  many 
a  leading  mind.  Through  her  ministrations,  she  is 
to  form  many  an  individual  and  family  of  wealth  and 
refinement,  to  the  service  of  error,  or  to  the  honor 
and  obedience  of  the  truth.  She  is  to  leave  educated 
and  cultivated  multitudes  in  the  slumbers  of  a  torpid 
dreamy  faith,  or  she  is  to  rouse  them  to  do  valiantly 
for  God.  She  is  to  teach  the  rich  their  fearful  obli- 
gation to  God's  poor,  and  to  the  Gospel  of  Christ, 
and  to  every  good  word  and  work  ;  or  she  is  to  con- 
sign them  over  to  a  still  more  insane  and  reckless 
pursuit  of  the  world's  baubles.  She  is  to  put  on  her 
robes  of  mercy,  and  go  forth  to  the  outcast  multi- 
tules,  who,  eveu   here,  in  this   Christian  city,  are 


180  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

living  as  much  without  God,  and  as  far  estranged 
from  Sabbath  and  sanctuary,  as  though  they  dwelt 
in  Pagan  darkness  ;  or  she  is  to  take  to  her  soul  the 
flattering  unction,  that  she  was  not  sent  forth  to 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature,  but  only  in  ears 
polite,  to  audiences  on  cushioned  seats,  in  gorgeous 
temples,  beneath  imposing  spectacles  of  art.  Breth- 
ren, look  forth  over  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  im- 
mortal beings  who  are  around  you,  who  are  hasten- 
ing to  the  bar  of  God  ;  hastening  to  make  report  to 
Him,  who  is  their  Lord  and  our  Lord ;  not  of  them- 
selves alone,  but  of  us  too,  and  think  for  how  many 
of  them  no  Sabbath  sun  arises,  no  house  of  prayer  is 
opened.  Think  of  the  immigrants,  who  each  week 
touch  for  the  first  time  your  shores,  with  no  man  to 
care  for  their  souls,  with  little  but  the  sense  of  utter 
loneliness,  and  the  fear  lest  they  perish  for  lack  of 
food.  Think  who  it  is  that  compose  our  Christian 
congregations.  Women  and  children  are  there ! 
But  where  are  the  men  ?  Where  are  those  who 
guide  the  commerce  and  ply  the  trades,  and  practise 
the  liberal  professions,  and  move  and  control  the 
great  heart  of  this  community  ?  How  small  a  pro- 
portion of  our  young  men — those  who  even  now 
wield  a  vast  influence,  and  who,  a  few  years  hence, 
are  to  direct  the  most  momentous  of  your  material 
and  social  interests,  are  gathered  on  the  Lord's  day 
to  hear  the  teachings  of  the  Lord's  house !  And  then, 
when  we  come  within  that  house,  what  do  we  find  ? 
Is  it  elevation  of  faith,  such  as  becomes  those  who 
call  themselves  Christians  ?  Is  it  sublime  abstraction 
from  the  cares  and  perplexities  of  life  ?  Is  it  a  simple, 
whole-hearted  purpose  to  do  all  the  will  of  God,  and 


THE  FAITHFUL  BISHOP.  181 

have  within  us  the  mind  of  Christ  ?  Is  it  a  devotion 
that  ascends  from  hearts  full  of  love  for  all  goodness, 
and  righteousness,  and  truth  ? — which  breathes  alike 
glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  good  will  towards  all 
conditions  and  estates  of  men  ?  Know  we  not.  Bre- 
thren, that  churches  may  rise ;  that  splendid  orna- 
ments may  deck  their  walls  or  chancels ;  that  sea  and 
land  may  be  compassed  to  make  one  proselyte  ;  that 
multitudes  may  crowd  towards  the  sacred  mysteries 
of  our  religion ;  that  at  the  impulse  of  mere  earth- 
born  zeal,  ease  and  property  may  be  sacrificed,  and 
even  our  bodies  given  to  be  burned,  and  yet  true 
charity  be  so  wanting  that  all  shall  be  as  sounding 
brass,  and  as  tinkling  cymbals  ? 

Here,  then,  is  the  state  of  things  by  which  we  are 
all  surrounded ;  and  who  will  not  say  that  it  calls  for 
earnest  and  heroic  treatment  ?  We  want  not  the  fitful 
fires  which  flash  up  with  a  momentary  zeal.  We  need 
the  steady,  high-hearted  enthusiasm  which  can  breast 
itself  against  neglect  or  scorn  ;  which  can  brook  long 
delays,  and  stand  undismayed,  even  though  the  people 
rage,  or  the  kings  of  the  earth  imagine  a  vain  thing. 
We  need  the  fervor  and  constancy  of  soul,  which  can 
be  sustained  by  nothing  but  a  simple  trust  in  God, 
and  a  simple  looking  towards  the  recompense  of  our 
final  reward.  It  must  have  root  in  prayer.  It  must 
be  fed  by  manly  and  persevering  studies.  It  must 
gather  power  by  wrestling  with  the  perverseness  of 
men,  and  the  obstructions  of  nature  and  Providence. 
"  It  must  be  no  fugitive  and  cloistered  virtue*  unex- 
ercised and  unbreathed,  that  never  sallies  out  and 
seeks  her  adversary,  but  slinks  out  of  the  race,  when 

*  Milton. 
16 


182  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

that  immortal  garland  is  to  be  run  for,  not  without 
dust  and  heat."  "  In  this  theatre  of  man's  life," 
says  Bacon,  "  it  is  reserved  only  for  God  and  angels 
to  be  lookers  on."  It  is  our  part,  not  to  say,  "  Be 
ye  warmed,  and  be  ye  filled,"  while  we  *^give  them  not 
those  things  which  are  needful."  It  is  ours  to  do  ouf 
diligence  to  give  to  all  who  need,  whether  their  lack 
be  of  meat  that  perishes,  or  of  that  which  endureth ; 
whether  it  have  respect  to  disease  of  body,  or  to  plague- 
spot  upon  the  heart ;  whether  it  be  knowledge  that 
lights  our  pathway  through  life,  or  that  which  gilds 
with  the  sunshine  of  a  blessed  hope  our  last  departing 
hour.  Oh,  then,  for  Pastors  and  Bishops  of  the  flock 
who  shall  be  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season; 
who,  with  all  long-suffering,  and  yet  with  all  autho- 
rity, shall  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort ;  who  shall  do  this, 
to  use  the  words  of  Chrysostom,  "  not  only  when  they 
are  in  the  church,  but  also  in  their  house ;  not  only 
in  times  of  peace  and  safety,  but  also  when  they  are 
in  prison ;  not  only  when  in  time  of  health,  but  even 
when  they  are  about  to  die." 

2.  But  if  earnest,  so  also  they  should  be  soher- 
minded.  In  whatever  proportion  activity  becomes 
intense  and  general,  in  the  same  proportion  it  needs 
to  be  thoughtful  and  forecasting.  If  we  would  have 
our  earnestness  tell  for  the  welfare  of  mankind,  and 
the  lasting  honor  of  the  Church,  we  must  surely  not 
forget  that  there  is  but  a  step  between  true  earnest- 
ness and  the  aberrations  of  a  morbid  enthusiasm,  or 
the  fires  of  a  senseless  fanaticism.  When  imagina- 
tion and  passion  are  greatly  exalted,  then  men  are 
always  in  danger  of  misconceiving  the  true  ends  of 
effort,  and  still  more  in  danger  of  overlooking  its  ap- 


THE   FAITHFUL   BISHOP.  183 

propriate  means  and  conditions.  It  is  with  difficulty 
they  can  then  wait  on  the  tardy  movements  of  Pro- 
vidence, or  press  calmly  on,  cheered  by  no  shouts  of 
applause,  exasperated  by  no  cries  of  opposition.  It 
is  at  such  seasons  that  expedients  abound  in  the  reli- 
gious as  in  the  active  world,  which  must  he  spurious, 
because  they  are  easy  and  compendious  ;  which  must 
be  unpleasing  to  God,  because,  in  derogation  of  all  his 
plans,  they  would  buy  us  blessings  without  the  ap- 
pointed price.  Patience,  prayer,  and  humble  con- 
stant effort.  Brethren,  are  the  conditions  without 
which  no  great  or  lasting  good  can  be  achieved  for 
ourselves  or  for  others.  If  to  them  we  add  the  wis- 
dom that  foresees,  and  the  prudence  that  provides  for 
every  emergency  ;  if  reason,  self-possessed  and  look- 
ing before  and  after  with  large  discourse,  hold  the 
helm;  if  conscience,  clear-eyed  and  serene  in  her 
sovereignty,  preside  over  the  way ;  if  imagination  is 
invoked  only  to  raise  the  actual  into  a  fairer  and  more 
benignant  ideal,  and  the  heart,  inflamed  with  generous 
desire,  urge  us  to  bring  that  ideal  down  to  men's  busi- 
ness and  bosoms,  that  it  may  gradually  mould  them  to 
its  own  shape — that  so  our  hearths  may  reflect  a  holier 
charity,  and  our  neighborhoods  be  filled  with  more  of 
peace  and  good  will,  and  our  land  abound  yet  more 
and  more  with  all  righteousness  and  truth ; — in  such 
case,  need  I  say,  that  action,  the  most  earnest  and 
fervid,  will  be  fraught  with  blessing.  To  all,  then, 
we  would,  in  this  age  and  country,  address  the  coun- 
sel given  by  the  great  English  moralist : 

"Pour  forth  thy  fervors  for  a  healthful  mind, 
Obedient  passions  and  a  will  resigned  J 


184  DISCOURSES   AND    CHARGES. 

For  love  which  scarce  collective  man  can  fill ; 
For  patience  sovereign  o'er  transmuted  ill ; 
For  faith,  that  panting  for  a  happier  seat, 
Co  ants  death  kind  nature's  signal  for  retreat, 
These  goods  for  man,  the  laws  of  Heaven  ordain ; 
These  goods  he  grants  who  grants  the  power  to  gain. 
With  these,  celestial  Wisdom  calms  the  mind,  • 

And  makes  the  happiness  she  does  not  find." 

But  if  this  soberness  of  mind  be  needed  by  all,  jet 
more  is  it  needed  by  those  who  have  the  care  and 
oversight  of  Christ's  flock.  Everything  around  them 
calls  for  wisdom  and  circumspection — for  the  calm 
spirit  of  Him  who  made  it  his  meat  and  drink  to  do 
his  Father's  will,  but  who  vented  his  burning  zeal  in 
no  transports  of  excitement.  We  stand  between  the 
past  with  its  mournful  but  instructive  vicissitudes,  and 
the  future  which  seems  big  with  unknown  and  eventful 
revolutions.  We  behold  the  world  bent  on  change, 
and  intoxicated  with  visions  of  a  day  which  shall  be 
brighter  and  better  than  any  that  has  passed.  We 
see  the  Church  of  our  fatherland  convulsed  even  to  its 
centre,  through  the  struggle  of  principles  which  must 
learn  to  dwell  together  and  be  at  peace,  unless  the 
world  is  to  be  given  over  on  the  one  side  to  the  wildest 
anarchy,  or  on  the  other,  to  the  most  unmitigated 
despotism  and  superstition.  The  same  awful  and 
momentous  conflict,  we  see  waging  throughout  the 
states  of  Europe,  and  not  a  stranger  in  our  own. 

And  when,  in  the  attempt  to  meet  our  duty,  we 
summon  the  Church  to  gird  herself  for  some  glorious 
work  of  piety  or  benevolence,  what  opposing  tastes 
and  tendencies  do  we  not  encounter  !  What  contra- 
dictory theories  !  On  the  one  hand,  what  professed 
scorn  for  all  that  characterizes  the  present,  and  what 


,   THE   FAITHFUL  BISHOP.  185 

tindlstlngulshing  reverence  for  the  usages  and  doctrines 
of  the  past !  On  the  other  hand,  what  blind  submis- 
sion to  the  spirit  of  the  age,  and  what  profound  faith 
in  that  which  styles  itself  the  destiny  of  our  Republic ! 
Here,  a  theory  of  education  which  would  denounce 
all  change  in  the  methods  or  instruments  of  culture, 
and  there  a  theory  which  would  explode  the  well-tried 
systems  of  our  predecessors,  and  put  out  boldly  with- 
out chart  or  compass  on  the  sea  of  experiment.  Here, 
a  scheme  of  pastoral  care  and  religious  training, 
which  rests  its  whole  hope  on  the  renewal  of  cateche- 
tical instruction,  or  on  the  practical  recognition  of  the 
sacraments  as  the  all  but  exclusive  means  of  grace ; 
there  a  scheme  which  holds  as  stale  and  unprofitable 
every  method  of  spiritual  culture,  which  does  not 
begin  and  end  with  dogmatic  teaching,  or  with  the 
machinery  of  associated  effort.  Here,  principles  for 
the  regulation  of  Christian  beneficence  which  would 
merge  all  consideration  of  means  in  one  agonizing  effort 
to  reach  the  end ;  there,  principles  which  condemn 
all  charity  that  presumes  to  scrutinize  some  of  the 
sorest  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to,  which  will  tolerate 
nothing  that  can  move  deeply  the  sensibilities  or  dis- 
turb the  interests  of  classes,  and  which  is  almost 
tempted  to  maintain  that  whatever  is,  is  right. 

Surely,  he  needs  sobriety  of  mind  who  would  him- 
self steer,  or  who  would  conduct  those  who  have  a 
right  to  claim  guidance  at  his  hands,  through  such  a 
sea  of  storms  and  quicksands ;  who  would  hold  fast 
all  that  is  good  in  the  past,  and  yet  be  thankful  for 
every  boon  which  the  present  can  bestow ;  who  can- 
not vote  as  obsolete  the  wisdom  of  the  ancients,  nor 
as  impertinent  the  discoveries  of  the  moderns ;  who 


186  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

does  not  think  that  the  education  of  the  child,  nor 
the  moral  and  spiritual  improvement  of  the  man,  nor 
the  advancement  of  society  in  happiness  and  virtue, 
is  to  be  secured  by  any  mere  systems^  however  just  or 
comprehensive  ;  whose  faith  rests  at  once  on  the  good 
providence  of  God,  and  on  the  unfailing  well-spring 
of  intelligent  conscientious  activity,  which  the  Creator 
has  planted  deep  in  each  human  soul ;  and  who  holds 
that  the  grand  desideratum,  in  all  these  spheres  of 
Christian  beneficence,  is  that  the  roch  in  the  wilder- 
ness,— the  torpid  intellect ;  the  yet  unawakened,  un- 
developed heart ;  the  uneducated  conscience,  be  so 
struck  by  a  skilful  and  faithful  hand,  and  by  God's 
grace,  that  the  streams  of  voluntary  self-directed 
effort  shall  break  forth,  and  what  before  was  desert, 
shall  begin  to  bloom  and  blossom  with  a  freshness  and 
beauty  of  its  own  creation.  It  is  not  what  we  do  for 
the  child,  or  for  the  man,  that  is  to  bless  them  per- 
manently and  effectually  ;  it  is  rather  what  we  move 
and  assist  them  to  do  for  themselves. 

3.  But  I  hasten  to  another  point.  As  they  who 
are  charged  with  the  highest  authority  in  the  Church 
should  be  earnest,  and  yet  sober  men,  so  in  the  third 
place,  they  should  be  men  of  large  minds.  They 
should  be  large-minded  in  respect  to  things  secular, 
as  well  as  in  respect  to  those  which  are  sacred.  They 
should,  for  instance,  be  able  to  discern,  and  not  un- 
willing to  appreciate,  the  part  which  other  agencies, 
besides  those  of  the  Church,  are  bearing  in  the  great 
work  of  forming  a  nation's  mind  and  heart.  Science 
— Philosophy — Letters — here  are  powers  in  the  move- 
ments of  our  age,  and  they  are  powers  which  ought 
to  be  actively  engaged  in  the  service  of  Christ  and 


THE  FAITHFUL  BISHOP.  187 

his  Gospel.  To  recognize  in  each,  then,  as  it  now 
manifests  itself,  its  proper  merits  and  defects ;  to  ac- 
cept from  each,  gladly  and  thankfully,  whatever  help 
it  can  afford  in  moving  our  race  forward  towards  a 
higher  state,  and  to  war  boldly  yet  discreetly  against 
whatever,  in  each,  arrays  itself  against  the  integrity 
of  the  faith  or  the  welfare  of  society — this,  surely,  is 
the  duty  of  all  who  would  be  wise  in  winning  souls. 

Do  we  look,  then,  towards  Science  f  This  claims 
to  be  the  interpreter  of  that  great  Book  in  which  God 
has  drawn  clear  traces  of  his  eternal  power  and 
majesty ;  in  which  he  has  engraven  memorials  of  the 
physical  history  of  our  globe,  and  on  every  page  of 
which  the  devout  and  thoughtful  mind  can  find  fresh 
occasion  for  gratitude  and  adoration.  It  is  a  book 
whose  scroll  is  yet  but  partially  unrolled,  and  in  which 
many  characters  are  found  that  no  human  sagacity 
has  been  able  to  decipher.  We  may  not  wonder 
then,  if  its  students,  like  those  who  pore  over  another 
and  a  holier  volume,  sometimes  mistake  as  divine  their 
own  crude  or  presumptuous  conjectures.  The  teach- 
ings of  that  Book,  when  once  they  come  to  be  read 
aright,  will  be  found  to  blend  harmoniously  with  the 
real  teachings  of  the  Book  of  grace,  and  all  will  tell 
of  the  moral  as  well  as  natural  perfections  of  a  per- 
sonal God ;  of  One  who  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  forever ;  who  is  glorious  in  his  holiness,  and  yet 
a  Father,  full  of  compassion  to  the  children  of  men. 
To  Science,  we  owe  unmeasured  and  immeasurable 
thanks,  for  the  material  and  moral  blessings  which  it 
has  shed  on  mankind  through  its  alliance  with  indus- 
try. To  Science  we  owe  gratitude  also,  because  it  is 
gradually  training  us  to  juster  notions  of  criticism  and 


188  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARQES. 

interpretation  in  respect  to  the  Bible.  But  we  must 
guard  against  its  tendency  to  divorce  itself  from  a 
simple  faith  in  God.  We  must  watch  lest  a  base 
counterfeit  (Science  falsely  so  called)  intrude  into  its 
seat ;  and  we  must  be  suspicious  of  all  its  oracles, 
when  they  so  set  forth  laws  as  to  obscure  our  percep*- 
tion  of  the  great  Lawmaker  ;  when  they  so  expound 
the  material  mechanism  of  the  universe  as  to  dispense 
with  the  providence  of  God,  or  treat  as  fabulous  the 
notion  of  miraculous  intervention. 

Do  we  look,  again,  towards  PTiiloaophy  f  If  we 
see  much  in  its  present  state  to  regret,  the  Christian 
minister  may  find  in  it  also  much  to  commend.  Com- 
pared with  its  condition  fifty  years  since,  it  is  more 
spiritual  and  more  comprehensive.  It  discerns  more 
clearly  the  existence  and  supremacy  of  that  in  man 
which  is  immaterial,  self-conscious,  self-determined ; 
it  recognizes  more  decidedly  and  cordially  the  interior 
moral  force  which  is  the  glory  of  our  nature,  and 
treats  us  less  as  if  we  were  the  unresisting  recipients, 
or  the  mere  aggregate  results  of  outward  forces.  It 
has  extended  its  researches  to  every  part  of  our 
nature.  It  has  ascended  from  the  seen  to  the  unseen 
world  of  truths  and  ideas.  It  has  descended  again  to 
the  mysterious  links  that  unite  together  so  closely  our 
bodies  and  our  souls.  It  has  inquired  how  matter  is 
working  with  mind  in  the  development  of  our  highest 
and  holiest  powers,  and  it  has  urged  the  necessity  of 
reaching  continually  towards  notions  of  the  Eternal 
and  Absolute — notions,  which,  though  they  sometimes 
resolve  themselves  into  pantheistic  conceptions,  are 
still  preparatory  to  a  juster  theism  than  was  commonly 
accepted  among  the  wits  and  philosophers  of  the  last 


THE   FAITHFUL   BISHOP.  189 

These  are  grounds  for  thankfulness ;  but  there  are 
others,  alas  !  which  can  occasion  only  grief  and  alarm. 
It  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  a  subtle  skepticism  has 
been  engendered  by  these  studies  now — as  will  always 
be  the  case,  when  they  are  not  pursued  in  the  fear  of 
God,  and  are  not  continually  submitted  to  searching 
practical  tests.  This  skepticism  spares  neither  the 
records  of  Revelation  nor  the  conclusions  of  Natural 
Theology ;  and  whether  it  take  the  form  of  a  positive 
or  of  a  high  metaphysical  philosophy,  it  is  destined, 
no  doubt,  to  make  frightful  havoc  among  many  gifted 
but  misguided  minds.  The  disease  is  deplorable ; 
but  he  needs  a  skilful  and  a  tender  hand,  who  would 
eradicate  it ;  and  great  will  be  the  debt — incalculable 
the  blessing,  which  they  will  confer  on  Christendom, 
who  shall  qualify  themselves  to  deal  with  it  in  all  its 
disguises,  and  who  shall  conduct  its  blinded,  but  often 
sincere  votaries,  to  the  rock  of  a  childlike  Christian 
faith. 

In  fine,  do  we  turn  to  our  Literature  ?  It  is  wield- 
ing a  mighty  power  alike  over  the  many  and  over  the 
few.  It  penetrates  everywhere,  under  the  guidance 
of  the  press,  and  of  popular  education;  and  it  speaks 
with  a  directness  and  force  which  have  rarely  been 
surpassed.  It  deals  too  with  the  most  momentous 
social  and  political  problems,  and  discusses  them  often 
with  a  reckless  and  ignorant  audacity.  Let  us  at  the 
same  time  acknowledge  that,  in  its  better  forms,  it 
breathes  a  spirit  of  more  genial  humanity,  and  mani- 
fests a  truer  reverence  for  the  moral  and  spiritual 
capabilities  of  our  race  than  it  once  did.  Even  its 
poetry  and  fiction  now  plead  for  social  amelioration. 
Its  daily  labors  send  light  into  the  dark  places  of 


190  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

crime  and  immorality,  and  it  causes  its  voice  to  be 
heard  as  it  cries  aloud  in  behalf  of  the  poor  and 
down-trodden.  Would  that  we  could  see  in  it  a  due 
appreciation  of  the  origin  and  causes  of  those  ills 
under  which  mankind  still  groan.  Would  that  it 
dealt  more  wisely  and  anxiously  with  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  institutions  on  which  it  draws  a  displeasure 
that  may  prove  simply  destructive;  that  it  probed  with 
searching  hand  the  great  spiritual  disease  that  affects 
our  whole  race  ;  and  that  it  saw  with  earnest  heart 
and  taught  with  impressive  power,  the  utter  insuffi- 
ciency of  all  social  palliatives  and  all  political  reforms, 
which  do  not  include  as  their  ground  and  ultimate 
aim,  repentance  towards  God  and  faith  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

Be  it  ours,  Brethren,  as  God  may  give  us  strength, 
to  supply  this  great  and  essential  defect.  For  all 
that  Literature  is  doing  to  subserve  human  progress, 
let  us  be  thankful.  Let  us  emulate  the  comprehen- 
sive and  severe  scrutiny  with  which  it  explores  the 
hardships  that  press  on  those  who  are  not  blessed 
with  property  or  education ;  and  let  us  resolve  that 
it  shall  not  be  our  fault  if  the  light  and  consolations 
of  the  Gospel  do  not  find  entrance  where  the  press 
thus  leads  the  way.  We  are  ambassadors  of  Him 
who,  when  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  went  forth  to  en- 
counter Satan  and  triumphed  over  him  gloriously. 
We  are  His  ambassadors  who,  returning  from  that 
memorable  victory,  went  down,  as  we  are  told,  in  the 
spirit  into  Galilee,  and,  entering  into  a  synagogue, 
selected  for  comment  this  passage  :  "  The  spirit  of 
the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because  he  hath  anointed  me 
to  preach  good  tidings  unto  the  poor ;  to  proclaim 


THE    FAITHFUL   BISHOP.  191 

liberty  to  the  captive,  and  the  opening  of  the  prison 
doors  unto  them  that  are  bound."  Where  the  anoint- 
ing of  the  spirit  is,  in  its  proper  life  and  energy,  there, 
Brethren  beloved,  will  ministrations  to  the  poor  and 
afflicted  of  this  world  be  reckoned  among  the  highest 
of  honors  as  well  as  duties. 

And  if  we  are  to  deal  in  this  enlarged  spirit  with 
other  studies,  how  miich  more  with  our  own.  Theology 
is  now  vibrating  between  the  past  and  present — be- 
tween theories  which  would  abnegate  the  sense  of 
personal  responsibility  and  the  right  of  private  judg- 
ment, and  theories  which  put  the  intuitions  or  reason- 
ings of  the  individual  not  only  before  the  authority 
of  the  Church,  but  even  before  the  letter  and  plain 
sense  of  Scripture.  Between  these  opposite  and 
distant  errors,  lies  a  vast  variety  of  opinions,  which 
in  an  active  and  earnest  age  must  all  conduce,  some- 
what, to  strife.  Does  it  not  become  the  fathers  of 
the  Church,  however,  while  they  hold  fast  the  doc- 
trine which  is  according  to  godliness,  while  they  cling 
to  all  that  seems  accordant  with  Scripture  and  time- 
hallowed  usage,  still  to  do  it  with  such  meekness  and 
moderation,  that  they  shall  lead  others  to  imitate 
their  example  ?  A  large-minded  theologian  cannot 
look  on  the  limitation  of  human  faculties  and  on  their 
extreme  fallibility,  without  perceiving  that  in  religion, 
as  elsewhere,  diversities  of  opinion  are  unavoidable, 
and  he  will  feel  that  the  discussion  of  such  diversities 
is  neither  to  be  prevented  nor  condemned.  He  will 
see  that  controversies  which,  in  times  of  persecution, 
respect  the  very  existence  of  the  faith,  will  in  more 
peaceful  days  turn  on  the  interpretation  of  it,  and  he 
will  hope  that  their  blasts  may  contribute  to  sift  and 


192  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

winnow  men's  opinions.  He  will  always  distinguish, 
however,  mere  strifes  about  words,  from  those  which 
involve  great  and  sacred  principles,  and  he  will  be  as 
impatient  of  the  one  as  he  is  tolerant  towards  the 
other.  He  will  be  anxious  that  all  Christians  act  on 
the  Apostolic  maxim,  he  swift  to  hear^  slow  to  speak 
— inasmuch  as  readiness  to  listen,  and  indisposition 
to  reply,  will  often  serve  of  themselves  to  close  the 
most  angry  debates.  He  will,  above  all,  desire  that 
all  parties  be  slow  to  wrath;  that  each  disputant 
suppress  its  first  risings  in  his  own  breast,  and  care- 
fully shun  whatever  in  word  or  deed  would  be  likely 
to  arouse  it  in  others  ;  that,  while  he  contends  ear- 
nestly for  the  faith,  it  shall  never  be  with  bitter  in- 
vective nor  with  licentious  wit.  On  his  own  part, 
and  on  the  part  of  those  with  whom  he  acts,  he  will 
be  ready  to  amend  whatever  is  justly  obnoxious  to 
censure,  and  when  he  sees  in  others  that  which  he 
cannot  but  condemn,  he  will  beware  lest  his  aversion 
carry  him  to  some  opposite  and  not  less  pernicious 
extreme.  He  will  strive  to  discover  that  residuum 
of  good  which  can  generally  be  found  in  the  most 
erroneous  opinions,  and  he  will  use  this  as  a  means 
for  winning  them  back  to  a  more  excellent  way. 
And,  finally,  when  they  who  have  erred  and  gone 
astray,  whether  in  doctrine  or  practice,  shall  appear 
to  relent,  he  will  welcome  the  first  sign  of  misgiving, 
and  will  hasten  forth  to  meet  the  returning  prodigal 
— imposing  no  humiliating  conditions,  nor  exacting 
that  in  form  which  may  cheerfully  be  yielded  in 
substance.  Are  these.  Brethren,  principles  which 
commend  themselves  at  once  to  our  reason  and 
our  hearts  ?      Is    their   soothing    influence   needed 


•    THE  FAITHFUL   BISHOP.  19S 

greatly  among  us  at  this  time  ?  Be  it  ours,  then,  to 
contribute,  as  we  may,  to  their  diffusion.  Be  it  ours 
to  cultivate  in  our  own  minds,  and  to  impress  on  others, 
larger  views  of  theology  as  a  science,  and  juster  con- 
ceptions of  the  constitution  and  economy  of  the  mind 
of  man.  Let  us  not  indulge  the  thought  that  true 
unity  is  inconsistent  with  all  differences  of  opinion 
and  all  diversities  of  practice  ;  and  above  all,  let  us 
have  done  with  the  unjust  and  ungenerous  supposi- 
tion, that  he  only  dissents  from  our  views  who  is 
weak  in  understanding  or  wicked  at  heart. 

4.  In  the  fourth  and  last  place,  we  need  Bishops 
who  have  large  hearts — expansive  and  active  sym- 
pathies. Manifold  causes  are  now  at  work  to  bring 
us  into  closer  relations  with  those  of  our  own  kind 
throughout  the  world.  The  moral  and  physical  con- 
dition of  all  sorts  of  men  is  opening  more  and  more 
to  view,  and  we  are  pressed  importunately  to  consider 
their  claims,  especially,  who  are  poor  or  degraded. 
Philanthropy  is  busy;  and  though  not  always  wise 
in  counsel,  nor  lowly  of  spirit,  nor  reverent  of  right, 
she  still  warms  with  a  generous  wish  to  ameliorate  the 
condition  of  mankind.  Ancient  and  powerful  king- 
doms, too,  exhibit  portentous  signs  of  impending  re- 
volution, which  prove  that  there  is  evil  abroad — evil 
in  that  against  which  the  many  so  war — evil  too  in 
the  temper  and  means  with  which  the  warfare  is 
waged.  At  such  a  time,  the  Church  is  false  to  herself 
and  to  her  most  sacred  trust,  if  she  does  not  show 
that  she  is  alive  to  the  claims  and  interests  of  all. 
The  interests  of  education ;  the  interests  of  labor ; 
the  rights  and  interests  of  property ;  liberty  for  the 
oppressed ;  elevation  for  those  cast  down ;  spiritual 

17 


194  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

regeneration  for  all  men, — none  of  these  should  be 
forgotten  or  treated  lightly.  The  rich  should  not  be 
abandoned  as  hopeless,  nor  should  the  poor  be  sent 
for  sympathy  and  guidance  to  those  who  fear  not  God 
nor  regard  man.  If  it  be  the  reproach  of  too  many 
efforts  to  raise  the  fallen  and  emancipate  the  im- 
prisoned, that  they  are  allied  with  infidelity,  let  that 
reproach  be  regarded  as  one  that  belongs,  in  some 
degree  at  least,  to  those  whose  part  it  is  to  see  that 
the  lost  and  despairing  never  are  given  over  to  the 
tender  mercies  of  the  wicked.  Christianity  is  a  reli- 
gion of  love  and  goods  works — a  gospel  of  promise, 
above  all,  to  the  suffering  and  sorrowing.  For  the 
just  rights  of  all,  she  enjoins  the  most  sacred  respect. 
In  behalf  of  established  authority,  she  claims  obedi- 
ence ;  but  her  eye  of  compassion  seeks  not  out  first 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  and  principal  men.  She  goes 
on  her  errands  of  pity  and  saving  grace  where  sorrow 
dwells — she  goes  not  merely  to  dispense  alms,  not 
merely  to  indulge  the  luxury  of  commiseration,  or  to 
make  parade  of  sympathy — she  goes  even  to  those 
most  abject  and  lost,  hoping  all  things,  enduring  all 
things,  believing  all  things,  and  she  is  never  wanting, 
at  fitting  times,  in  fitting  efforts  : — 

Were  we  as  rich  in  charity  of  deeds 

As  gold — what  rock  would  bloom  not  with  the  seed  ? 

We  give  our  alms,  and  cry,  "  What  can  we  more  ?" 

One  hour  of  time  were  worth  a  load  of  gold  I 

Give  to  the  ignorant  our  own  wisdom  I — give 

Sorrow  our  comfort !  lend  to  those  who  live 

In  crime,  the  counsels  of  our  virtue! — share 

With  souls  our  souls,  and  Satan  shall  despair  1 

Alas  1  what  converts  one  man  who  would  take 

The  cross  and  staflP,  and  house  with  Guilt,  could  make. 


THE   FAITHFUL  BISHOP.  195 

A  counsellor  of  a  great  kingdom  in  Europe,  charged 
with  the  superintendence  of  its  public  instruction,  of 
Education  for  the  People,  thus  expresses  the  inspiring 
guiding  idea  under  which  he  worked.  "  I  promised 
God,"  says  he,  "that  I  would  look  upon  every  Prus- 
sian peasant  child  as  a  being  who  could  complain  of 
me  before  God  if  I  did  not  provide  for  him  the  best 
education  as  a  man  and  a  Christian,  which  it  was 
possible  for  me  to  provide."  Noble  purpose  !  and  is 
it  not  one  that  it  well  becomes  each  one  of  us  to  form, 
who  would  glorify  God  by  improving  man's  estate  ? 
He  who  goes  forth  to  guide  and  rule  the  flock  of 
Christ,  should  he  not  say,  "I  will  hold  myself  account- 
able for  all  of  sorrow  and  evil  which  I  am  not  honestly 
and  heartily  endeavoring  to  remove ;  my  duty  is 
bounded  only  by  my  ability  ?" 

Is  irreligion  rife  throughout  the  land  ?  Then  let 
me  count  myself  irresponsible  only  when,  in  person 
and  through  the  voice  and  efforts  of  all  whom  I  can 
inspire  by  my  example,  or  move  by  my  remonstrance, 
I  have  labored  to  the  utmost,  that  God's  ways  may 
be  honored,  and  his  saving  health  known  and  accepted 
by  all. 

Is  there  crime  in  our  highways,  and  even  in  our 
homes  ?  Is  there  dark  depravity  and  sensuality  in 
our  lanes  and  alleys  ?  Let  me  never  protest,  in  re- 
spect to  it,  my  innocence  before  Heaven,  until  I  have 
done  all  that  in  me  lies,  to  educate  and  humanize  the 
young,  to  reclaim  the  mature  in  age,  and  to  shut  off 
all  the  parent  sources  of  this  iniquity. 

Does  pauperism  in  squalid  form  and  garb  stalk 
around  us,  pressing  upon  our  industry,  and  eating  as 
doth  a  canker  into  the  heart  of  the  body  politic  ?   Let 


196  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

Die  as  a  Christian  minister,  and  above  all,  as  a  Chris- 
tian Bishop,  claim  not  to  be  guiltless  in  regard  to  that 
stain  upon  our  civilization,  until  I  have  labored,  to 
the  utmost,  to  prevent  it  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  re- 
lieve it  on  the  other. 

Are  there  social  usages  -which  still  prove,  as  they 
always  have  proved,  abounding  sources  of  immorality 
and  crime  ?  Let  me  not  hold  myself  acquitted  before 
God,  unless  I  have  done,  by  precept  and  example,  all 
that  I  might  have  done,  to  protest  against  their  con- 
tinuance. 

Is  there  idolatry  of  wealth  and  pageantry — sense- 
less servitude  to  the  tyrannical  fashions  of  the  day  ? 
Let  me  not  hold  myself  innocent,  unless  I  have  steadily 
and  urgently  recommended  a  nobler  service  ;  unless  I 
have  been  myself  a  model  of  simplicity  and  frugality. 

In  one  word,  let  me  resolve  like  Dinter,  that  I 
will  regard  every  human  being,  old  and  young,  gentle 
and  simple,  who  may  be  reached  and  benefited  by 
my  prayers  and  exertions,  as  one  who  can  complain 
of  me  before  God,  if  I  have  not  done  him  good  at 
every  opportunity  and  by  every  means. 

My  dear  Brother — I  now  bid  you  welcome  to  the 
office  with  which  you  are  to  be  clothed.  It  has  toils 
and  trials.  Nowhere  in  this  country,  and  least  of  all 
in  the  region  where  you  will  minister,  is  it  without 
weighty  and  sometimes  depressing  cares.  But  it  is 
not  without  its  solace  and  supports.  For  the  faithful 
incumbent,  it  has  even  here  and  now  its  abundant 
recompense.  The  sweet  consciousness  that  you  live 
not  for  yourself  alone  ;  the  animating  thought  that 
you  are  helping  on  your  Master's   yet  unfinished 


THE   FAITHFUL   BISHOP.  197 

work ;  the  ennobling  assurance  that  you  are  encom- 
passed by  a  cloud  of  unseen  witnesses,  who  have  trod 
the  same  path  and  are  now  with  God,  but  who  still 
bend  with  sympathy  over  your  steps ;  the  solemn  yet 
consoling  reflection  that  His  eye  who  waits  even  yet 
that  he  may  see  the  travail  of  his  soul,  rests  on  yoa 
beaming  with  love,  and  owning  you  as  son — as  brother 
— these  shall  be  your  best  reward. 

The  scene  that  opens  before  you  is  enough  to  rouse 
the  noblest  enthusiasm  ;  it  is  enough  too  to  provoke 
the  deepest  self-distrust.  When  one  stands  on  an 
eminence  in  the  city,  which  is  soon  to  offer  you  a 
home  ;  when  he  reflects  how  the  territory  over  which 
your  official  duties  will  carry  you,  and  among  whose 
earnest,  enterprising  people  your  influence  will  now 
be  felt — when  he  sees  how  this  territory  is  watered  on 
the  north  and  on  the  south  ;  how  its  expanse  is  little 
less  than  one  great  fruitful  field ;  how  beneath  its 
surface  exhaustless  treasures  are  hidden,  and  how 
every  movement  of  our  industry  and  enterprise  tends 
to  place  it  more  and  more  on  the  highway  of  this  con- 
tinent,— at  such  a  spectacle,  one  cannot  but  feel  that 
here  is  a  theatre  of  usefulness  large  enough  and  lofty 
enough  to  satisfy  the  most  aspiring  and  generous 
ambition. 

Scarcely  ten  years  have  passed  since  its  population 
was  but  the  half  of  what  it  now  is.  Since  sixteen 
years,  when  our  venerable  father,  soon  to  be  your 
associate,  built  his  log  hut,  and  laid  beside  it  the 
foundation  of  his  college,  and  held  his  jubilee  festi- 
val, its  numbers  have  quadrupled ;  and  our  little 
communion,  which  then  numbered  scarcely  five  clergy- 

17* 


198  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

men,  has  that  number  six  times  told.  A  short  time 
more,  and  its  population,  now  nearly  one  million, 
will  have  risen  to  two  ;  wealth  will  have  increased 
still  more ;  knowledge  will  have  spread  and  grown 
apace,  and  the  signs  and  elements  of  almost  imperial 
greatness  will  be  around  you.  Be  instant.  Brother, 
in  season  and  out  of  season.  Preach  the  Word. 
Train  up  the  young  in  wisdom's  ways.  Multiply 
from  among  sons  of  the  soil,  candidates  for  the  sacred 
ministry.  Cherish  that  infant  seminary  of  Arts  and 
Religion,  which  the  wise  hand  of  your  brave  old  asso- 
ciate has  planted  on  a  foundation  so  broad,  and  which 
he  has  nourished  with  a  care  so  tender.  Summon  to 
its  aid  the  wealth  of  those  whom  God  has  blessed  in 
their  basket  and  store.  Gather  round  it  learned  and 
holy  men  who  shall  be  able  to  teach  well  and  wisely 
the  future  stewards  and  watchmen  of  the  Lord.  Carry 
with  you  even  from  those  who  are  here,  some  pledge 
that  the  fond  desire  and  prayer  to  God  of  our  senior 
Bishop,  for  this  the  child  of  his  old  age,  shall  not  be 
in  vain. 

You  go  where  morals  are  to  be  conserved.  You  go 
where  reverence  for  law  is  to  be  inculcated.  You 
go  where  universal  education  is  to  be  promoted.  You 
go  where  the  fireside  virtues  are  to  be  strengthened ; 
where  men's  thoughts  are  to  be  raised  above  material 
cares  and  interests ;  and,  above  all,  you  go  where 
honor  is  to  be  won  to  Christ,  and  his  Apostolic 
Church  upreared.  Go,  then,  and  may  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  go  with  you.  Re- 
prove— rebuke — exhort  with  all  long-suffering  and 
doctrine.     A  few  years  more,  and  the  mantle  of  Eli- 


THE   FAITHFUL   BISHOP.  199 

jah  will  have  descended  on  EUsha.  May  you  receive 
it  with  a  double  portion  of  his  own  self-sacrificing, 
indomitable  spirit.  May  your  life  be  so  spotless,  and 
your  labors  so  abundant  and  so  full  of  love,  that  men 
shall  say  of  you,  as  has  been  said  by  Fuller  in  his 
portrait  of  the  Good  Bishop,  "  He  is  an  overseer  of  a 
flock  of  Shepherds  as  a  good  minister  of  a  flock  of 
God's  sheep.  His  life  is  so  spotless,  that  malice  is 
angry  with  him  because  she  can  find  no  just  cause  to 
accuse  him.  With  his  honor,  his  holiness  and  his 
humility  doth  increase.  The  meanest  minister  of 
God's  word  may  have  free  access  unto  him.  Whoso- 
ever brings  a  good  cause  brings  his  own  welcome 
with  him.  The  pious  poor  may  enter  at  his  wide 
gates,  when  not  so  much  as  his  wicket  shall  open  to 
wealthy  unworthiness." 

But  a  few  more  years  will  have  rolled  away  before 
we  shall  no  more  be  seen  among  the  living.  Let  us 
keep  that,  the  all-eventful  hour  in  our  soul's  history, 
ever  in  view.  Before  God  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
then  ;  they  are  not  absent,  Brother  ;  they  are  here  ; 
in  their  presence ;  in  the  presence  of  these  your  breth- 
ren, who  wait  to  see  you  advanced  to  a  higher  minis- 
try in  Christ's  Church  ;  in  the  presence  of  my  asso- 
ciates, who,  with  me,  are  impatient  to  bid  you  welcome 
to  our  ranks  ;  before  this  vast  assemblage,  I  charge 
you  in  the  name  of  God,  on  Christ's  behalf,  keep  that 
which  is  committed  to  you.  So  live  that  when  you 
come  to  die,  your  name  and  memory  shall  forever  be 
embalmed  in  the  hearts  of  a  grateful  and  affectionate 
people.  So  live  that  when  you  come  to  meet  all  those 
among  whom  you  have  gone  preaching  and  laboring, 


200  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

you  shall  find  in  every  soul  a  witness  to  your  fidelity. 
And  in  your  last  earthly  hour,  when  the  world  fades 
from  your  view,  and  God  alone  can  be  the  strength 
of  your  heart,  then  may  you  be  able  to  say  with  Paul 
in  holy  confidence:  "I  have  fought  a  good  fight,"  "I 
have  kept  the  faith." 


CHAMCTER  OP  BISHOP  WHITE, 


AN  ADDEESS  * 


After  explaining  the  object  of  the  solemnities 
which  had  just  been  witnessed,  and  the  principles  to 
which  the  proposed  Church  would  be  devoted,  the 
speaker  proceeded  to  state  that  the  edifice  to  be 
erected,  would  not  only  be  a  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  with  all  its  sittings  perpetually  free, — it  would 
also  be  a  memorial  of  one  of  our  best  and  wisest 
Bishops. 

The  day  selected  for  this  duty,  was  that  (April 
4th)  which,  one  hundred  and  three  years  before,  had 
given  birth  to  William  White,  the  most  eminent  native 
citizen  perhaps,  that  Philadelphia  had  produced.  For 
nearly  ninety  years  he  had  been  one  of  her  inhabi- 
tants, and  had  been  identified  most  closely  during  his 
whole  life  with  her  highest  interests.  He  had  also 
associated  his  name  with  memorable  events  and  per- 
sonages belonging  to  our  political  and  ecclesiastical 
history.  A  patriot  of  the  Revolution,  one  of  the 
earliest  Chaplains  of  Congress,  at  one  time  the  friend 
and  Pastor  of  Washington,  for  more  than  fifty  years 
Hector  of  the  two  principal  congregations  in  the  Dio- 

*  The  substance  of  some  remarks  made  on  laying  the  Corner 
Stone  of  Calvary  Church  (Northern  Liberties),  April,  1851. 


204  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

cese  of  Pennsylvania,  the  first  Bishop  of  that  Dio- 
cese, and  for  nearly  half  a  century  the  senior  Bishop 
of  the  American  Episcopal  Church,  his  career  had 
been  alike  conspicuous  and  eventful. 

When  such  a  man,  hearing  so  many  offices  and  sus- 
taining relations  so  high  and  responsible  passed 
through  more  than  fourscore  years  with  an  unspotted 
name,  in  the  fearless  discharge  of  every  duty — and 
when  the  same  man,  called  by  Providence  to  take  a 
leading  part  in  measures  which  were  calculated  to 
give  cast  and  character  through  all  time  to  a  large 
and  important  branch  of  the  Church  universal — had 
been  enabled  to  fill  the  post  with  surpassing  wisdom 
and  success,  it  was  not  too  much  to  say  that  his  me- 
mory deserved  to  be  cherished  with  the  fondest  vene- 
ration. To  allow  it  to  be  forgotten  would  be  treason 
to  every  sentiment  with  which  nature  calls  us  to  honor 
departed  excellence  ;  it  would  be  most  unthankful  to 
the  God  who  had  bequeathed  to  us  the  legacy  of  such 
services  and  such  a  name  :  and  it  would  be  robbing 
the  young  and  ingenuous  of  future  generations,  of  an 
example  peculiarly  fitted  to  incite  to  worthy  deeds  of 
piety  and  philanthropy.  Let  this  humble  monument 
rise,  then,  on  the  banks  of  his  own  Delaware,  in  sight 
of  the  spire  beneath  which  he  had  published  for  more 
than  sixty  years  the  riches  of  Christ,  and  let  it  pro- 
claim to  every  beholder,  that  "  the  memory  of  the 
just  is  blessed." 

A  shaft,  higher  than  the  highest  pyramid  of  Egypt, 
is  now  rising  at  the  Capital  of  our  Union,  and  is  to 
perpetuate,  at  the  expense  of  thousands  of  grateful 
Americans,  the  fame  and  achievements  of  the  Father 
of  his  Country. 


BISHOP   WHITE.  205 

Is  it  not  well  that  here  in  this  city  of  his  birth,  in 
this  State  that  had  his  loyal  affection,  in  the  midst 
of  Churches  which  he  did  so  much  to  plant,  in  the 
presence  of  Protestant  Episcopalians  throughout  the 
land,  and  in  the  sight  of  all  good  men,  we  should 
build  a  simple  but  lasting  memorial,  where  the  poor 
may  be  welcomed  to  the  Banquet  Supper  of  the  Lamb, 
and  where  the  name  and  services  of  this  Father  of  our 
American  Church  shall  be  embalmed  and  treasured  up. 

Bishop  White's  was  a  character  eminently  worthy 
of  study.  He  was  without  the  salient  points  that 
most  strike  the  eye  of  the  casual  observer,  and  he 
had  not  the  splendor  of  genius  which  too  often 
dazzles  the  world  without  essentially  serving  it.  His 
was  that  harmonious  development  of  moral  and  intel- 
lectual qualities  which  makes  the  best  and  most  useful 
men. 

With  a  happy  natural  disposition,  with  a  noble  per- 
son and  fine  health,  he  combined  from  early  youth  a 
conscientiousness  and  a  spirit  of  self-culture,  which 
crowned  the  gifts  of  nature  with  the  graces  of  piety. 
No  man  ever  passed  through  a  course  so  long  and 
eventful,  more  universally  beloved  for  kindness  and 
gentleness,  or  more  honored  for  purity  and  unyielding 
integrity.  With  this  claim  to  the  affection  and  respect 
of  men,  he  added  a  claim  not  less  strong  to  their  abid- 
ing and  active  co-operation,  for  he  was  firm  of  purpose 
— patient  in  dealing  with  obstacles — loyal  through 
good  and  evil  report  to  his  convictions  of  duty — fear- 
less of  danger  to  life,  person,  and  reputation,  and  yet 
eminently  prudent  and  conciliatory.  His  intellectual 
powers  were  not  less  worthy  of  honor.  Gifted  by 
nature  with  a  sound  judgment  and  with  a  truth-loving 

18 


206  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

spirit,  he  cultivated  habits  of  calm  and  profound  re- 
flection, and  looked  before  and  after  with  large  dis- 
course of  reason.  Though  he  passed  his  life  in  the 
midst  of  various  and  distracting  cares,  yet  systematic 
industry,  combined  with  a  tenacious  memory,  made 
him  master  of  a  large  variety  of  learning ;  and  as  a 
theologian  he  reached  an  eminence  which  is  not  yet 
acknowledged,  and  which  measured  by  the  standard  of 
attainment  then  prevalent,  and  by  the  manifold  dis- 
advantages under  which  ministers  of  our  Church  every- 
where labored,  merits  the  highest  praise.  If  his  rhe- 
torical powers  had  equalled  his  erudition  and  his 
capacity  for  thought,  and  had  we  been  ready  to 
honor  as  we  ought  the  writers  of  our  own  country, 
the  name  of  White  had  now  stood  side  by  side  with 
those  of  Seeker  and  Porteus,  of  Horsely  and  Home. 
There  were  those  present  who  could  bear  ampler 
testimony  than  the  speaker  to  his  virtues  as  a  man, 
to  his  public  spirit  as  a  citizen,  to  his  devotion  as  a 
pastor,  and  his  graces  as  a  Christian  Bishop.  There 
was  one  capacity,  however,  in  which  his  name  and 
character  belonged  especially  to  history,  and  to  which 
history  had  not  yet  done  justice.  His  own  modesty, 
sometimes  too  fastidious,  prevented  him  from  doing 
it  in  his  "Memoirs  of  the  Church,"  and  it  was  not 
to  be  expected  that  in  a  work  emanating  from  a  dig- 
nitary of  the  English  Church  (the  present  Bishop  of 
Oxford),  the  motives  which  governed  him,  or  the  ob- 
stacles with  which  he  was  called  to  struggle,  could 
be  adequately  set  forth.  As  little  was  it  to  be  ex- 
pected, that  in  such  a  quarter  the  characteristic 
merits  of  the  American  Episcopal  Church,  as  resting 
for  pecuniary  support  on  the  voluntary  offerings  of 


BISHOP  WHITE.  207 

the  people,  and  as  recognizing  largely  the  right  of 
the  laity  to  share  in  government,  should  he  appre- 
ciated. The  time,  however,  is  coming,  when  Bishop 
White  will  be  recognized  as  alike  the  founder  and 
wise  master  builder  of  a  system  of  Ecclesiastical 
Polity,  which  though  not  faultless,  is  as  perfect  as  the 
condition  of  things  then  admitted,  and  of  which  the 
essential  excellence  is  likely  to  be  demonstrated  by 
the  progress  of  events. 

The  War  of  Independence  nearly  completed  the 
ruin  which  for  a  long  time  previous  seemed  impend- 
ing over  the  Church  in  America.  The  want  of  Epis- 
copal supervision  had  been  all  but  fatal  to  her  disci- 
pline, and  to  the  proper  supply  of  an  educated  and 
exemplary  ministry.  During  the  seven  dark  years 
of  that  war,  many  of  her  best  clergymen  and  laymen 
had  been  expatriated,  and  the  peace  of  1783  found 
her  hedges  broken  down  and  her  few  husbandmen 
almost  in  despair.  Her  members,  scattered  sparsely 
from  Maine  to  Georgia,  were  without  habits  of  co- 
operation, and  were  much  divided  in  opinion.  > 

To  combine  elements  so  scattered  and  heterogene- 
ous, to  reduce  to  order  and  inspire  with  hope  those 
who  knew  no  superior  and  were  sunk  in  despondence, 
was  a  task  which  could  only  have  been  achieved  by  a 
man  of  rare  discernment  and  of  great  practical  effi- 
ciency. It  was  necessary  that  his  motives  should  be 
above  suspicion.  His  urbanity  must  conciliate  regard. 
On  one  side,  his  loyalty  to  his  own  country  must 
be  unquestionable ;  and  on  the  other,  he  must  be  es- 
teemed for  the  strength  of  his  attachment  to  the 
Episcopal  regimen,  and  to  the  doctrines  and  worship 
which  prevailed  in  the  Mother  Church  of  England. 


208  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

He  must  have  a  temper  so  moderate,  and  principles  so 
catholic,  that  he  could  mediate  between  extreme 
opinions,  which  from  the  East  and  the  South  threat- 
ened to  come  into  hostile  collision ;  he  must  be  able 
to  foresee  and  provide  for  the  inevitable  difficulties 
•which  had  been  occasioned  by  old  prejudices  on  the  one 
hand,  and  by  new  fears  and  aversions,  the  result  of  a 
protracted  civil  war,  on  the  other ;  and  he  must  pos- 
sess, in  a  large  measure,  the  twofold  wisdom  which 
can  devise  the  best  measures  and  yet  yield,  when  ne- 
cessity requires  it,  to  others  which  are  not  the  best. 

When  such  men  are  needed,  we  may  consider  it  a 
singular  boon  of  Providence  if  they  are  permitted  to 
appear.  It  is  this  which  invests  the  career  of  Wash- 
ington with  so  much  that  moves  to  religious  gratitude 
and  admiration.  For  the  singular  adaptation  of  his 
talents  and  disposition,  his  early  training  and  his 
subsequent  experience,  to  the  great  work  he  was  called 
to  perform,  we  can  account  on  no  human  principle. 
It  was  the  same  with  him  who  was  called,  like  an- 
other Moses,  to  lead  our  Church  out  of  her  long 
captivity,  and  through  a  wilderness  of  suffering  and 
humiliation.  He  was  sent  of  God.  He  had  a  name 
against  which  reproach  did  not  venture  to  whisper. 
He  had  a  calmness  and  candor  of  mind,  and  a  strength 
of  judgment,  which  made  him  the  rallying  point  of 
all  who  desired  unity  and  reorganization.  His  mind 
was  clear  in  its  own  conceptions,  and  settled  in  the 
conclusions  to  which  it  had  been  carried ;  yet  he  was 
always  ready,  when  he  could  do  so  without  serious 
dereliction,  to  defer  to  the  judgment  and  wishes  of 
others.     He  had  both  prudence  and  courage,  and  he 


BISHOP   WHITE.  209 

was  gifted  in  larger  measure  than  almost  any  man  of 
his  day  with  a  clear  and  far-reaching  foresight. 

The  peace  of  1783  had  not  been  concluded  before 
he  had  sketched  out,  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  The 
Case  of  the  Episcopal  Churches  Considered,"  a  plan 
for  the  organization  of  our  infant  Communion,  which 
shows  the  comprehensive  skill  of  a  statesman,  and 
which  ultimately  commended  itself  to  general  accept- 
ance. The  essential  unity  of  the  whole  American 
Church  as  a  national  Church,  its  independence  of  any 
foreign  jurisdiction,  the  entire  separation  of  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  authority,  the  participation  of 
the  Laity  in  the  legislation  and  government  of  the 
Church  and  in  the  election  of  its  ministers  of  every 
grade,  the  equality  of  all  parishes,  and  a  threefold 
organization  (diocesan,  provincial,  and  general),  were 
fundamental  principles  in  his  plan,  as  they  were  in 
that  which  was  finally  adopted. 

To  conceive  such  a  plan,  however,  was  much  easier 
than  to  secure  its  adoption.  The  difficulties  which 
had  to  be  encountered  were  such  as  might  well  have 
appalled  any  spirit  less  calm  and  patient,  less  resolute 
and  trustful  than  his  own.  This  is  not  the  place,  nor 
is  now  the  time  in  which  to  set  forth  the  unyielding 
serenity  of  soul,  the  unfailing  courtesy  and  kindness, 
the  true  modesty  and  self-forgetfulness,  the  calm 
sobriety  of  judgment,  the  independence  of  personal 
considerations,  and  the  straightforward  honesty  and 
zeal  which  gradually  won  to  him  the  confidence  of  all 
hearts,  and  which  enabled  him  at  length  to  secure  the 
cordial  acceptance  of  every  important  feature  in  his 
original  plan.  To  develop  these  services  in  full  will 
be  the  duty  of  the  future  historian ;  and  upon  that 

18* 


210  DISCOURSES   AND    CHARGES. 

historian  will  devolve  the  grateful  task  of  showing 
how  his  steady  hand  guided  the  system  as  it  went  into 
operation ;  and  how,  through  the  gracious  'goodness 
of  God,  he  was  permitted  for  more  than  forty  years 
to  he  in  every  emergency  its  most  honored  and  trusted 
administrator. 

No  monument  of  stone  or  hrass  can  worthily  com- 
memorate the  services  of  such  a  man.  No  care, 
however  pious  or  affectionate,  can  guard  his  memory 
or  honor  his  services  too  well.  Thanks  then  to  the 
godly  women  who  in  all  meekness,  hut  with  indomit- 
able patience,  have  striven  through  five  long  years  to 
provide  here  a  lasting  and  most  appropriate  memorial. 
In  a  church,  the  seats  of  which  are  to  be  always  free, 
and  which  is  to  open  its  doors  alike  to  poor  and  rich, 
they  would  remember  the  destitute  and  needy,  and 
they  would  remember  him,  too,  who  through  all  his 
useful  life  was  distinguished  by  devotion  to  their 
wants.  The  sick,  the  indigent,  the  vicious,  the  igno- 
rant and  neglected,  the  prisoner  in  his  cell,  and  those 
bereaved  from  birth  of  the  most  important  organs  and 
faculties,  ever  found  in  William  White  a  friend  and 
benefactor.  May  the  mantle  of  his  benevolence  and 
meek  wisdom  descend  on  those  who  survive  or  follow 
him.  May  the  example  of  pious  zeal  and  of  gratitude 
to  his  memory,  which  our  sisters  have  given  us,  be 
gladly  imitated  ;  may  we  take  shame  to  ourselves  that 
this  good  work  has  been  so  long  delayed,  and  may  we 
resolve — would  that  this  resolution  could  be  adopted 
by  every  household  in  our  communion  in  this  city, — 
may  we  resolve  that  we  will  each  of  us  bear  some 
part,  however  humble,  in  its  early  consummation. 


OUR  COUNTRY  ADMONISHED, 


A  SEKMON/ 


"  For  when  thy  judgments  are  in  the  earth,  the  Inhabitants  of 
the  world  will  learn  righteousness." — Isaiah  xxvi,  part  of  9th 


These  words  form  part  of  a  song  of  praise,  dic- 
tated by  the  Most  High  to  his  prophet,  and  intended 
to  be  sung  in  the  land  of  Judah,  when  that  land 
should  enjoy  its  promised  triumphs  over  those  who 
were  alike  the  enemies  of  God  and  of  his  people. 
Among  the  subjects  for  devout  thanksgiving  indicated, 
one  was  to  be  found  in  the  awful  judgments,  which, 
while  they  desolated  other  nations,  should  spare  their 
own.  In  these  judgments,  God  saw  means  at  once  of 
arousing  and  of  permanently  improving  those  who 
might  look,  with  vacant  eye  and  uninstructed  heart, 
on  the  ordinary  dispensations  of  his  providence.  As 
well  to  those  who  might  behold  them  only  in  their 
effects  on  others,  as  to  those  who  should  suffer  from 
them  in  their  own  persons,  they  would  speak  in  loud 
and  most  impressive  tones  of  the  supremacy  and  the 
perfect  rectitude  of  His  law,  and  of  the  peril  of  every 
nation  that  should  perseveringly  disobey  it. 

*  Delivered  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  1848. 


214  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

You  will  understand  then,  brethren,  why  I  select 
these  words  as  the  theme  of  our  morning's  meditation. 
We  assemble  in  this  place,  at  the  call  of  both  the  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  authority,  to  commemorate  our 
public  and  national  blessings ;  and  among  them,  ac- 
cording to  the  teaching  of  the  text,  we  may  reckon 
those  judgments  which  have  been  sent  on  the  earth, 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  may  learn  righteous- 
ness. All  experience  teaches,  that  with  nations,  as 
with  individuals,  adversity,  though  a  stern,  is  still  a 
wise  and  most  effectual  teacher ;  and  that  its  salutary 
lessons  often  admonish  and  benefit  those  to  whom 
they  are  not  directly  addressed.  And  if  ever  in  our 
day  such  lessons  were  abroad  in  the  earth, — it  is  now; 
or  if  ever  nation  had  cause  to  congratulate  itself  that 
it  can  enjoy  the  admonition,  while  it  escapes  the 
suffering  involved,  it  is  surely  our  own.  On  us  there 
is  laid,  therefore,  a  twofold  obligation  to  gratitude 
and  improvement — the  one  emanating  from  the  pre- 
eminent blessings  we  enjoy — the  other  proceeding 
from  the  judgments  we  have  thus  far  escaped. 

What  a  contrast  there  is  between  our  lot  to-day, 
and  that  of  some  of  the  most  powerful  and  illustrious 
nations  of  Christendom  !  Our  barns  and  storehouses 
are  filled  with  plenty ;  theirs  indicate,  in  too  many 
cases,  the  approach  of  painful  scarcity,  if  not  of  abso- 
lute famine. — Our  air  is  still  free  from  the  taint  of 
that  mysterious  and  deadly  pestilence ;  while  in  theirs 
it  is  silently  spreading  its  fatal  infection. — With  us 
the  resounding  clangor  of  war  is  hushed,  and  we  are 
again  at  peace  ;  while  with  them,  there  are  on  every 
hand  the  evils  and  the  woes  of  bloody  strife.  Within 
our  own  borders,  we  live  in  substantial  unity — differ- 


^ 


TEACHING   BY  JUDGMENTS.  215 

ing  indeed  in  our  opinions,  but  referring  those  differ- 
ences, after  free  and  full  discussion,  to  the  silent 
arbitrament  of  the  ballot-box ;  whereas  within  their 
borders  class  is  arrayed  against  class,  and  one  divi- 
sion of  kingdoms  against  another,  in  feuds  alike  cruel 
and  unrelenting. — In  this  our  own  beloved  common- 
wealth, we  have  beheld  within  the  last  few  months, 
its  chief  magistrate  resigning  the  power  and  dignities 
of  his  office,  that  he  might  close  his  days  more  tran- 
quilly amid  the  contemplations  and  the  devout  services 
which  become  a  believer's  deathbed.  In  other  lands, 
we  behold  sovereign  princes — heirs  of  a  long  line  of 
renowned  ancestry — swaying  one  day  with  all  but 
absolute  authority  the  destinies  of  millions,  while  on 
the  next  day  they  are  driven  as  fugitives  from  their 
own  palaces,  or  yield  to  the  indignant  demands  of  their 
people  a  reluctant  consent.  At  this  very  moment 
what  is  the  condition  of  several  kingdoms  most  famed 
in  the  history  of  modern  Europe — kingdoms  embrac- 
ing more  than  one  hundred  millions  of  our  fellow- 
Christians,  and  comprehending  among  their  statesmen 
an  almost  unbounded  share  of  the  sagacity,  experi- 
ence, and  learning  of  the  time  ? — Does  not  the  whole 
framework  of  society  seem  disjointed  ?  Are  not 
regular  governments  superseded  by  temporary  and 
perhaps  self-constituted  committees?  The  gravest 
and  most  difficult  questions  of  state,  are  they  not 
referred  to  the  arbitration  of  some  popular  tumult  ? 
And  monarchs — are  they  not  engaged  in  carrying  the 
horrors  of  fire  and  sword  into  the  very  heart  of  their 
own  capitals ;  while  among  the  people  there  is  uni- 
versal discontent,  and  all  but  universal  perplexity — 
men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear^  and  for  looking 


216  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

after  those  things  which  are  coming  on  the  earth,  -^ 
And  we,  brethren,  does  it  not  seem  as  if  we  alone  of 
the  nations  had  escaped  to  celebrate  God's  sparing 
mercy  to  us — his  fearful  judgments  on  others  ?  Lifted 
suddenly  to  an  unwonted  eminence  among  the  great 
powers  of  the  earth — objects  now  of  unprecedented 
regard  alike  to  their  rulers  and  their  people,  does  it 
not  well  become  us  to  remember  to-day  who  it  is  that 
hath  put  this  honor  and  blessing  upon  us — and  how 
vast  and  fearful  is  the  responsibility  to  mankind  with 
which  we  are  now  charged  ? 

In  order  the  better  to  meet  this  responsibility,  let 
us  notice  for  a  moment  the  admonitory  lessons  which 
are  addressed  to  us  in  the  events  of  the  past  year. 
When  God's  judgments  are  on  the  earth,  then  espe- 
cially should  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  learn  right- 
eousness ;  and  then  may  the  Christian  pulpit,  leaving 
its  ordinary  topics,  strive,  especially  on  a  day  like 
this,  to  give  voice  and  articulation  to  the  providential 
teachings  of  the  Most  High. 

Among  these  teachings  we  may,  beside  others,  re- 
cognize distinctly — as  it  seems  to  me — the  following : 

1.  That  nations,  as  well  as  individuals,  are  imme- 
diately accountable  to  Crod, 

2.  That  they  ought  to  look  with  increased  abhor- 
rence on  war  and  on  all  its  accessories. 

3.  That  they  should  shun  alike,  law  without  liberty ^ 
and  liberty  without  law  :  and 

4.  That  they  should  ever  beware  of  a  civilization^ 
however  refined,  which  is  not  enlightened  and  ani- 
mated by  a  healthy  national  conscience  ;  or  in  other 
words,  which  is  not  founded  on  the  immovable  rock  of 
public  and  private  morality. 


•  TEACHING   BY  JUDGMENTS.  217 

I.  From  the  judgments  which  are  abroad  in  the 
earth,  taken  in  connection  with  our  own  mercies,  we 
may  learn  to  stand  in  awe  of  Him  who  is  the  God  of 
nations.  Both  the  evil  meted  out  to  others,  and  the 
good  bestowed  upon  ourselves,  will  tend  to  mislead 
and  to  corrupt  us,  unless  we  view  them  with  senti- 
ments appropriate  to  religion.  Forgetting  that  God 
is  the  Supreme  Disposer  of  events,  we  shall,  in  such 
case,  ascribe  all  our  national  prosperity  to  our  own 
wisdom,  and  the  might  of  our  own  hand.  Or  if  look- 
ing higher,  we  own  a  Providence  that  shapes  our  ends, 
and  leads  us  by  a  way  that  we  know  not — even  then, 
if  we  take  counsel  of  pride  and  self-love,  we  shall  be 
apt  to  regard  our  successes  not  as  so  many  tokens  of 
unmerited  favor,  but  rather  as  rewards  which  the 
Most  High  bestows  upon  our  sagacity,  enterprise,  and 
virtue.  It  was  against  this  sore  but  common  mistake 
of  nations,  that  Moses  protested  when  warning  God's 
chosen  people  of  their  coming  glory,  and  of  their 
consequent  danger.  As  they  were  about  to  pass  over 
Jordan  and  take  possession  of  the  promised  land,  he 
charged  them,  saying,  "  Speak  not  thou  in  thy  heart 
after  that  the  Lord  hath  cast  out  those  nations  from 
before  thee,  saying,  for  my  righteousness  the  Lord 
hath  brought  me  in  to  possess  this  land;  but /or  the 
wickedness  of  those  nations  the  Lord  doth  drive  them 
out  from  before  thee.  Not  for  thy  righteousness  or 
the  uprightness  of  thy  heart  (for  thou  art  a  stiff-necked 
people)  dost  thou  go  to  possess  their  land,  but  for  the 
wickedness  of  these  nations  doth  the  Lord  thy  God 
drive  them  out  from  before  thee,  and  that  He  may 
perform  the  covenant  which  He  made  with  thy  fathers, 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob." 

19 


218  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES.  ^^ 

How  well  does  this  language  of  the  lawgiver  of 
Israel  apply  to  our  own  history.  One  tribe  after  an- 
other of  a  valiant  and  warlike  people  retired  before 
our  fathers,  as  they  came,  a  feeble  band,  to  plant 
themselves  on  this  western  continent.  One  restric- 
tion after  another,  imposed  by  the  fatherland  upon 
free  industry,  and  free  political  action,  gave  way  be- 
fore their  resistance,  till  at  length,  through  the  bless- 
ing of  God  upon  their  counsels  and  arms,  the  last 
vestige  of  foreign  dominion  was  obliterated  from 
these  shores.  Another  war  with  the  same  great  power 
was  not  without  its  substantial  fruits.  In  the  mean- 
time our  industry  and  enterprise  have  been  gaining 
every  year  still  nobler  triumphs  ;  and  of  late  we  have 
seen  all  the  resources  of  a  neighboring  republic,*  ral- 
lied over  and  over  to  withstand  the  victorious  progress 
of  our  soldiery,  and  rallied  in  vain. 

And  now — shall  we  say  it  is  for  our  rigJdeousness — 
or  it  is  by  our  power  alone  or  the  might  of  our  hand 
that  we  have  gotten  us  this  wealth  ?  Should  we  not 
rather  say,  it  is  for  the  wickedness  of  these  nations ; — 
or  better  still,  it  is  to  accomplish  His  own  wise  but  in- 
scrutable designs,  that  God  has  thus  caused  us  to  pre- 
vail. When,  for  instance,  we  look  at  the  war  from 
which  we  have  just  emerged,  does  it  not  become  us  to 
remember,  that  to  triumph  over  a  nation  rent  by  con- 
tending factions  and  besotted  by  vice  and  supersti- 
tion, is,  at  best,  but  a  humble  triumph !  Does  it  not 
become  us,  too,  to  consider  that  triumph  in  the  light 
of  the  past,  and  of  God's  avenging  justice  ?  When 
we  think  of  the  bloody  and  remorseless  career  of  a 
Cortez ;  when  we  think  of  the  cry  of  oppressed  and 

*  Mexico. 


^  TEACHING   BY  JUDGMENTS.  219 

despoiled  natives  ascending  to  Heaven,  through  long 
ages,  for  redress  ;  when  we  remember  the  licentious- 
ness of  public  and  private  morals  which  overspread 
that  ill-fated  land,  may  we  not  ask  whether  here  were 
not  arrears  of  national  delinquency  which  had  to  be 
discharged ;  and  whether  we  may  not  have  been  se- 
lected rather  in  wrath  than  in  kindness  as  the  agents 
to  collect  them.  Who  knows  but  that  in  the  fate  of 
that  land  we  are  reading  the  dark  foreshadowing  of 
our  own  ?  Suppose  ye  that  these  Galileans  were 
sinners  above  all  the  Galileans,  because  they  suffered 
such  things  ;  I  tell  you  nay.  There  are  other  natives 
— besides  those  enslaved  by  the  Spaniards — who  have 
arrears  to  settle  with  the  spoilers  that  stripped  them  of 
their  hunting  grounds,  and  drove  them,  helpless  and 
heart  stricken,  from  their  homes  and  the  graves  of 
their  fathers.  There  are  other  captives,  besides  those 
in  the  mines  of  Mexico,  whose  sufferings  tell  of  unre- 
quited wrongs,  and  who  speak  forth  to-day  with  more 
than  two  millions  of  tongues,  the  disgrace  and  danger 
of  a  nation  boasting  itself  free,  and  yet  holding 
Christian  men  and  Christian  women  in  bondage. 
There  are  other  derelictions,  both  public  and  private, 
besides  those  which,  under  institutions  less  wise  and 
in  climes  more  enervating,  have  stained  the  name  of 
American  Republican — and  do  they  not  call  us  to-day 
to  mingle  humiliation  with  our  thanksgivings,  and 
amendment  with  our  congratulations  ?  Do  they  not 
say  unto  us  as  Moses  said  to  Israel  of  old :  "  Beware 
that  thou  forget  not  the  Lord  thy  God,  in  not  keeping 
his  commandments,  for  it  is  He  that  giveth  thee 
power  to  get  wealth.  And  if  thou  do  at  all  forget  the 
Lord  thy  God,  to  walk  after  other  gods  and  serve 


220  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES.  ^ 

them,  I  testify  against  you  this  day  that  ye  shall 
surely  perish;  as  the  nations  which  the  Lord  de- 
stroyeth  before  your  face  so  shall  ye  perish,  because 
ye  would  not  be  obedient  unto  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
your  God."  And  is  not  this  the  thank  OFFERiNa 
"  that  God  hath  chosen  ?  to  loose  the  bands  of  wicked- 
ness, to  undo  the  heavy  burdens,  to  let  the  oppressed 
go  free,  and  that  ye  break  every  yoke  ?  Is  it  not  to 
deal  thy  bread  to  the  hungry,  and  that  thou  bring  the 
poor  that  are  cast  out  to  thy  house  ?  when  thou  seest 
the  naked  that  thou  cover  him,  and  that  thou  hide 
not  thyself  from  thine  own  flesh  ?  Then  shall  thy 
light  break  forth  as  the  morning,  and  thine  health 
shall  spring  forth  speedily,  and  thy  righteousness 
shall  go  before  thee,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall 
be  thy  rear-ward," 

II.  In  the  second  place,  recent  events,  and  espe- 
cially the  judgments  which  are  abroad  in  the  earth, 
should  teach  us  to  look  with  increased  abhorrence  on 
WAR.  In  respect  to  ourselves,  it  might  seem  that 
wars  have  been  fruitful  in  real  and  substantial  benefit, 
as  well  as  in  glory.  It  should  be  considered,  how- 
ever, that  their  apparent  benefits  to  every  nation  are 
present  and  palpable,  while  their  inevitable  and  most 
mournful  evils  are  future,  and  to  the  mass  of  men  all 
but  unobserved.  All  can  feel  the  stirring  influence  of 
martial  movements  and  martial  exploits.  When  troops 
move  forth  with  their  plumed  chivalry,  in  pride  and 
pomp  and  glorious  circumstance,  it  needs  steady 
nerves  and  a  thoughtful  forecasting  mind,  not  to 
share  in  the  general  enthusiasm.  And  when  their 
courage,  their  discipline,  the  science  of  their  leaders, 


TEACHING   BY  JUDGMENTS.  221 

and,  in  the  moment  of  severest  trials,  the  self-for- 
getting, self-sacrificing  spirit  of  all  have  done  their  ap- 
propriate work  ;  when  all  obstacles  have  yielded  before 
those  who  have  fought  in  our  names,  and  professedly 
for  our  honor  and  welfare,  whose  heart  will  not,  for 
the  moment,  overleap  a  sober  estimate  of  the  right 
and  of  the  solid  advantage,  to  exult  in  the  brilliancy 
of  the  achievement  and  in  the  consequent  acclamations 
of  an  unthinking  multitude. 

But  alas  !  the  fumes  of  this  mental  intoxication 
ought  to  give  place,  before  long,  to  other  and  wiser 
thoughts.  We  ought  to  begin  to  reckon  up  the  wives 
that  have  been  widowed, — the  children  that  have  be- 
come fatherless, — the  homes  of  helpless  age  that  are 
now  desolate, — the  moral  contagion  caught  in  the 
camp  and  brought  back  to  infest  our  neighborhoods 
and  our  firesides.  We  ought  to  consider  the  heavy 
accumulations  of  public  debt  that  those  who  win  the 
glory  of  the  war  unusually  turn  over  to  be  borne  by 
those  who  come  after ;  the  distaste  which  has  been 
contracted  by  a  disbanded  soldiery  for  all  peaceful 
and  gainful  industry ;  the  lust  of  adventure,  of  mili- 
tary fame,  and  perhaps  of  military  rapine,  which  has 
been  aroused,  and  which  spreads  with  electric  quick- 
ness and  force  to  the  young  and  inconsiderate  on 
every  side.  Are  not  these  evils  ? — and  are  they  not 
evils  which  it  becomes  a  sagacious  people  to  weigh  well 
and  wisely  before  they  elect  a  warlike  in  preference 
to  a  pacific  policy  ? — If  the  people  were  wise,  said  a 
sage  and  statesman  of  former  times — if  the  people 
were  wise,  war  is  a  game  at  which  kings  would  not 
he  allowed  to  play.  It  is  a  game, — and  always,  and 
in  every  country,  it  is  a  game  played  by  the  few  at 

19* 


222  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

the  expense  of  the  many ;  and  yet  without  the  con- 
sent and  co-operation  of  the  many  it  could  not  even 
begin.  History  will  be  searched  in  vain,  as  it  seems 
to  me,  for  one  great  and  enduring  benefit,  not  in  some 
way  countervailed,  which  has  been  compassed  by  a 
strictly  aggressive  war — and  it  is  of  that  alone  I  now 
speak — and  yet  the  war  spirit  is  fostered  as  if  it 
were  one  of  the  greatest  friends  and  benefactors  of 
mankind  ! 

What  is  taught  on  this  subject  by  the  present  con- 
dition of  Europe  ?  The  convulsions  which  are  shak- 
ing and  upheaving  the  whole  social  fabric,  do  they 
not  spring  primarily  from  the  distresses  of  the  labor- 
ing poor  ! — and  those  distresses,  do  they  not  spring 
from  the  disproportion  between  the  cost  of  subsist- 
ence and  the  means  of  obtaining  it  ? — and  the  cost 
of  subsistence,  is  it  not  increased  to  an  almost  incre- 
dible degree  by  the  burden  of  taxation  ? — and  that 
burden  again,  what  is  it,  in  great  measure,  but  the 
burden  imposed  or  entailed  by  war  ?  To  the  cost  of 
former  wars,  which  comes  in  the  shape  of  perpetual 
and  often  of  increasing  interest  on  national  debts,  add 
the  cost  of  more  than  two  millions  of  men,  withdrawn 
even  in  times  of  peace  from  all  productive  pursuits, 
and  constantly  employed  in  standing  armies  and  na- 
vies,— and  the  cost  also  of  maintaining  fortifications, 
ships,  arsenals,  and  armories,  and  you  have  what 
European  labor  and  European  capital  have  to  pay 
annually  to  uphold  war.  It  is  a  sum  more  than  eight 
times  as  great  as  all  the  other  expenses  of  govern- 
ment put  together.  The  administration  of  civil  func- 
tions— the  dispensation  of  justice — the  prevention  of 
crime  by  police — the  education  of  the  people,  and 


TEACHING   BY  JUDGMENTS.  223 

the  support  of  the  religion  of  Christ,  all  combined, 
do  not  impose  on  the  suffering  nations  of  Europe  a 
burden  one-eighth  as  great  as  is  constantly  imposed 
by  war. 

And  what,  in  principle,  is  war  ?  It  is  the  duel 
between  nations,  differing  in  no  respect  from  the  duel 
between  individuals,  except  that  the  successful  com- 
batant is  allowed  to  carry  off  as  spoil  the  effects  of 
his  vanquished  antagonist.  It  is  an  adjournment  of 
great  questions  of  international  right  or  courtesy  from 
the  bar  of  temperate  discussion  and  peaceful  arbitra- 
tion before  peers,  to  the  bar  of  chance  or  mere  force. 
It  is  an  appeal  from  the  reason  and  conscience  of  the 
parties  themselves, — from  large  views  of  their  true 
interest,  and  from  the  moral  judgments  of  mankind, 
to  the  exploded  trial  by  combat  of  the  middle  ages. 
Alas  !  alas !  that  eighteen  hundred  years  after  the 
coming  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  this  relic  of  barbarism 
should  still  be  clung  to  by  nations  calling  themselves 
Christians ;  and  God  grant  that  the  penalty  which 
they  are  now  suffering,  and  which  has  been  treasuring 
itself  up  for  ages,  may  deter  us  from  following  their 
dazzling  but  dangerous  example. 

III.  A  third  lesson,  taught  by  the  judgments  abroad 
in  the  earth,  is  the  danger  on  the  one  hand,  of  Law 
without  Liberty,  and  on  the  other,  of  Liberty  with- 
out Law,  Each  alike  is  at  war  with  the  will  of  the 
Creator,  and  each,  therefore,  inconsistent  with  the 
duty  and  happiness  of  nations.  The  one  is  the  state 
towards  which  some  of  the  great  powers  of  Continen- 
tal Europe  seem  to  have  been  tending — the  other  is 
the  state  towards  which  their  subjects,  wearied  with 


224  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

undue  restraints  and  burdens,  seem  to  be  now  strug- 
gling. Taking  to  themselves  a  large  share  of  the 
authority,  once  wielded  by  the  nobles  and  free  cities 
of  Europe,  Kings  and  Emperors  have  essayed  a  new 
kind  of  absolutism — governing  through  laws,  fixed, 
known,  and  in  many  respects,  wise  and  just, — but  in 
the  creation  and  administration  of  which,  the  people 
should  have  little  voice.  We  need  not  wonder,  if  in 
recoiling  from  the  inevitable  abuses  of  such  a  system, 
that  people,  uninstructed  and  unpractised  in  the  pro- 
per functions  of  government,  should  rush  to  the  oppo- 
site extreme,  and  should  now  seek  to  substitute  the 
licentious  will  of  a  majority,  for  the  arbitrary  decrees 
of  a  court.  Liberty,  however,  is  but  a  name,  unless 
they  who  enjoy  it  are  protected  by  law  against  wrong 
and  violence  ; — and  Law  is  a  fraud,  unless  it  secure 
the  utmost  freedom  to  virtuous  aspirations  of  every 
kind,  whether  political  or  personal.  In  presence, 
then,  of  the  frightful  storms,  which  have  been  pro- 
voked by  the  ambition  of  power  ;  in  presence,  too,  of 
the  horrors  which  have  been  enacted  in  the  prosti- 
tuted name  of  Liberty,  let  our  thanks  ascend  to  God, 
that  thus  far  we  have  been  saved  from  both ;  and  let  our 
prayers  and  efforts  never  be  wanting,  that  this  mercy 
may  be  continued.  Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of 
Liberty ;  and  moderation,  forecast,  and  love  of  order, 
are  the  soul  of  Law. 

IV.  In  conclusion — the  judgments  which  are  in 
the  earth,  should  teach  us  to  beware  of  all  civiliza- 
tion that  does  not  find  its  root  and  nourishment  in  a 
healthy  national  conscience.  There  may  be  literature 
and  science — there  may  be  wealth  and  refinement — 


TEACHING   BY  JUDGMENTS.  225 

there  may  even  be  the  outward  rites  and  institutions 
of  Christianity,  and  yet  our  civilization  be  essentially 
hollow  and  false.  The  voice  which  God  sends  to  us 
from  the  tottering  thrones  and  the  social  chaos  of 
Europe,  speaks  in  vain,  if  it  do  not  teach  that  for 
nations  as  for  individuals,  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is 
wisdom,  and  that  to  depart  from  evil  is  understand- 
ing. What  but  a  deep  sense  of  our  accountability  to 
God,  and  of  our  obligations  to  his  creatures,  can  keep 
us  from  disloyalty  to  our  families,  our  neighbors,  our 
country  ?  What  are  laws  or  constitutions,  unless 
there  be  faith  between  man  and  man  ;  and  whence 
can  that  faith  be  derived,  but  from  God's  truth  and 
God's  spirit,  writing  their  living  lessons  on  the  heart  ? 
Even  religion  itself,  if  it  do  not  rectify  and  strengthen 
the  moral  sentiments,  if  it  do  not  frown  on  all  dere- 
liction, whether  domestic,  social,  or  public — if  it  do 
not  constrain  us  to  do  justly  and  love  mercy,  as  well 
as  walk  humbly  with  God,  if  it  offer  pardon  without 
amendment  of  life,  and  promise  heaven  to  those  who 
are  unfit  for  earth — what  is  such  religion,  but  one  of 
the  most  fearful  engines  of  mischief  ?  Let  us  beware 
then  of  whatever  can  corrupt  the  national  conscience, 
and  stain  the  national  heart.  Let  us  see  to  it,  lest 
under  a  fair  exterior,  with  much  of  outward  refine- 
ment,— much  too,  of  the  show  of  virtue  and  piety, 
the  soul  of  true  morality  be  eaten  out — lest  the  lower 
passions  and  propensities,  by  becoming  everywhere 
predominant,  gradually  sap  the  very  foundation  of 
the  social  edifice,  and  leave  it  to  perish  through  its 
own  weight  and  rottenness. 

I  have  thus  noticed  very  imperfectly  a  few  of  the 


226  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

lessons  to  be  deduced  from  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
past  year.  When  thy  judgments  are  in  the  earthy 
the  inhabitants  of  the  world  will  learn  righteousness. 
Rarely,  if  ever,  has  God  addressed  such  warnings  and 
admonitions  to  nations,  and  never  was  any  nation  more 
solemnly  bound  to  listen  and  profit  by  them  than  our 
own.  Our  destinies  are  still,  under  God,  in  our  own 
hands.  The  destinies  of  other  lands,  too,  to  a  degree 
fearful  to  think  of,  are  to  be  henceforth  affected  by 
our  example  and  influence.  Let  it  be  our  prayer,  as 
it  was  the  unceasing  prayer  of  the  great  Washington, 
recorded  in  his  Farewell  Address — "that  heaven  may 
continue  to  us  the  tokens  of  its  beneficence ;  that  our 
union  and  brotherly  affection  may  be  perpetual ;  that 
the  free  constitution,  which  was  the  work  of  our  hands, 
may  be  sacredly  maintained  ;  that  its  administration 
in  every  department  may  be  stamped  with  wisdom 
and  virtue  ;  that,  in  fine,  the  happiness  of  the  people 
of  these  States,  under  the  auspices  of  Liberty,  may  be 
made  complete,  by  so  careful  a  preservation,  and  so 
prudent  a  use  of  this  blessing,  as  will  acquire  to  them 
the  glory  of  recommending  it  to  the  applause,  the 
affection,  and  adoption  of  every  nation,  which  is  yet 
a  stranger  to  it."  Yes,  ever  let  us  pray,  in  language 
employed  by  the  same  Sage  and  Patriot,  in  a  Procla- 
mation for  a  National  Thanksgiving,  issued  fifty-three 
years  ago,  that  God  will  "imprint  upon  our  hearts  a 
deep  and  solemn  sense  of  our  obligations  to  Him,  for 
our  blessings  as  a  people ;  that  He  will  preserve  us 
from  the  arrogance  of  prosperity,  and  from  hazarding 
the  advantages  we  enjoy  by  delusive  pursuits ;  that 
He  will  dispose  us  to  merit  the  continuance  of  his 


TEACHING   BY  JUDGMENTS.  227 

favors  by  not  abusing  them,  by  our  gratitude  for 
them,  and  by  a  correspondent  conduct  as  citizens  and 
as  men ;  that  He  will  render  our  country  more  and 
more  a  safe  and  prosperous  asylum  for  the  unfortu- 
nate of  other  countries  ; — that  He  will  extend  among 
us  true  and  useful  knowledge,  diffuse  and  establish 
habits  of  order,  sobriety,  morality,  and  piety,  and 
finally  impart  all  the  blessings  we  possess  or  ask  for 
ourselves,  to  the  whole  family  of  mankind." 


NATIONAL   ACCOUNTABILITY. 


20 


J.,..'.X, 


A  SEEMON* 


Behold,  therefore,  the  goodness  and  severity  of  God  :  on  them 
which  fell,  severity;  but  toward  thee,  goodness,  if  thou  continue 
in  his  goodness  :  otherwise  thou  also  shalt  be  cut  off.  Romans 
xi,  22. 

These  words  indicate  the  principle  on  which 
nations  are  dealt  with  by  their  Great  Ruler.  They 
refer  more  immediately  to  the  rejection  of  the  Jews, 
and  the  calling  of  the  Gentiles.  Israel  had  been 
chosen  as  the  special  instrument  through  whom  the 
Messiah  was  to  be  introduced  to  his  work  on  earth. 
Hers  were  the  adoption,  and  the  glory,  and  the  cove- 
nants, and  the  giving  of  the  Law,  and  the  service  of 
Grod,  and  the  promises.  One  temple  rose  to  attest 
his  unity,  and  sacrifices  and  oblations  were  continu- 
ally offered  as  memorials  of  what  he  had  done  in  the 
past — as  intimations  of  what  he  was  yet  to  do  in  a 
more  gracious  and  wonderful  future.  To  add  to  the 
effect  of  all  these,  there  were  not  wanting,  from  time 
to  time,  stupendous  displays  of  judgment  and  of 
mercy.  All  the  way  through  which  the  Most  High 
led  them  for  forty  years  in  the  wilderness,  was  but  a 

*  Preached  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  November,  1857. 


232  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

rehearsal  of  that  longer  way  through  which,  for  nearly 
two  thousand  years,  he  conducted  them,  that  he  might 
humble  them  and  prove  them,  and  see  whether — when 
the  great  crisis  of  their  history  came,  the  grand  trial 
of  their  obedience  and  faith — they  would  be  found  true. 
The  result  we  know.  They  proved  unfaithful,  and 
retribution  fell.  The  natural  branches  being  unfruit- 
ful are  cut  away  with  unsparing  hand,  and  the  wild 
olive  is  grafted  in,  to  be  a  partaker  of  the  root  and 
fatness  of  the  true  plant. 

We  have  here  an  epitome  of  the  history  of  all 
nations  with  respect  to  natural  and  civil  advantages. 
What  Israel  was  in  respect  to  spiritual  and  supernatural 
privileges,  all  are  in  respect  to  those  which  are  earthly 
and  temporal.  They  are  stewards.  Soil  and  climate  ; 
race  and  language ;  domestic  and  social  economies ; 
laws  and  government ;  schools  and  churches ; — all  are 
hut  a  trusty  and  nations  grow  or  decline,  rise  or  fall, 
according  as  they  prove  faithful  or  unfaithful.  Need 
I  say  that  with  no  trust  of  this  kind  was  ever  nation 
charged  (since  the  days  of  Israel)  more  eventful, 
through  which  more  of  blessing  may  be  won  to  huma- 
nity, or  more  of  glory  to  God,  than  is  that  with  which 
we,  the  American  people,  find  ourselves  possessed? 
We  have  all  that  could  be  desired  to  occupy  our 
powers  and  to  incite  them  to  higher  and  nobler  effort — 
vast  expanse  of  territory — exhaustless  riches  of  mine 
and  forest  and  field — the  two  oceans  of  the  globe  at 
our  feet — navigable  rivers,  whose  sum  of  length  is 
measured  by  tens  of  thousands  of  miles — and  inland 
seas,  which,  almost  without  help  from  art,  open  to  the 
voyager  an  unobstructed  path  from  the  far-distant 
interior   to  the  remotest  ports  of  China  or  Japan. 


THE   STEWARDSHIP   OF   NATIONS.  ^  233 

We  have  in  our  veins  the  blood  of  a  race  which  has 
thus  far  proved  itself  invincible  by  sea  and  land. 
A  race  which  has  belted  the  globe  with  its  commerce 
and  its  arts.  And  from  the  experience  of  nearly  six 
thousand  years ;  from  the  manifold  vicissitudes  of  the 
nations  that  have  gone  before  us;  from  all  their 
mistakes  and  all  their  successes,  we  have  had  be- 
queathed to  us  a  precious  legacy  of  power  and  wisdom. 
Young  in  years,  but  old  in  the  fruits  of  the  world's  toil 
and  travail,  enriched  with  spoils  gathered  by  those 
who  through  all  time  have  wrestled,  whether  as  sages, 
legislators,  and  patriots,  for  man,  or  as  apostles,  pro- 
phets, and  martyrs,  for  God,  we  are  here  to-day  as  trus- 
tees— trustees  of  all  the  past,  for  the  benefit  of  all  the 
future.  We  are  here,  not  merely  with  a  glorious  heri- 
tage to  be  enjoyed,  but  with  one  also  to  be  improved, 
that  they  who  come  after  us  may  say.  Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  stewards.  And  never  has  the  Lord 
our  God  been  wanting  to  us.  How  often  has  He  in- 
terposed by  his  providence  to  avert  the  dangers  with 
which  we  were  threatened  or  the  judgments  we  had 
provoked  !  How  often,  too,  as  a  loving  Father,  has 
he  striven,  by  reasonable  correction,  to  chastise  our 
presumption,  or  rebuke  our  idolatry  of  the  world ! 
Sometimes  he  has  caused  a  blight  to  fall  upon  our 
fields,  sometimes  pestilence  to  stalk  through  our  cities. 
At  one  time  he  has  sent  confusion  into  the  councils 
of  our  rulers  ;  at  another  madness  into  the  hearts  of 
our  people.  To-day  we  meet  to  celebrate  harvests 
more  bountiful ;  health  more  general ;  peace  with  the 
world  more  profound,  than  ever  perhaps  were  ours 
before.  And  yet,  what  signs  not  to  be  mistaken 
are  around  us  of  suffering  ;  of  perplexity  ;  of  fear ! 

20* 


234  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

With  one  hand  God  seems  to  have  given  to  us,  as  to  his 
people  in  the  wilderness,  meat  for  our  lusts,  but  with 
the  other  he  has  sent,  also,  leanness  withal  into  our 
souls.  The  table  is  spread,  the  banquet  is  all  pre- 
pared, and  pressed  upon  our  acceptance  ;  but  the 
appetite  is  wanting ! 

What  a  spectacle  to  move  at  once  to  gratitude  and 
to  humiliation, — to  gratitude  for  Heaven's  gifts,  to 
humiliation  for  our  abuse  of  them  !  We  have  means 
and  appliances  through  which,  God  being  our  helper, 
we  may  rise  to  such  a  height  of  glory  and  beneficence 
as  the  world  has  not  yet  seen ;  but,  shall  we  have  the 
moderation,  the  private  and  public  virtue,  the  loyalty 
to  our  fathers  and  our  past,  the  fidelity  to  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  of  which  we  are  put  in  charge,  without  which 
our  greatest  pride  will  be  apt  to  become  our  greatest 
shame  ?  Is  not  our  domestic  and  social  life  too  often 
fevered  by  excitement,  and  harassed  by  vain  and 
silly  ambitions  ?  Is  not  our  business  life  pitched  too 
often  at  the  extremest  point  of  risk,  so  that  no  one 
knows  but  a  single  turn  of  the  die,  his  own  or 
another's,  may  consign  him  to  bankruptcy  or  lift  him 
to  afiluence  ?  Is  not  that  business  life  wound  up  too, 
to  an  unnatural  strain  of  efibrt,  so  that  little  time 
or  heart  is  left  for  repose  or  for  devotion,  for  the 
gentle  amenities  of  home,  for  the  blessed  charities  of 
friendship,  for  the  generous  pursuits  of  literature,  for 
patriotism  or  philanthropy  ? 

And  the  stern  yet  loving  virtue,  the  high-hearted 
faith  which  first  came  as  exiles  to  this  far-off  wilder- 
ness, which  so  inspired  and  sustained  that  little  com- 
pany who  landed  amidst  wintry  storms,  on  the  sterile 
coast  of  New  England ;  which  were  as  a  tower  of 


THE   STEWARDSHIP   OF   NATIONS.  235 

strength  to  that  small  band  of  Quakers,  who,  sixty 
years  later,  came  to  found  in  our  forests  a  common- 
wealth (now  numbering  nearly  3,000,000  of  freemen), 
on  the  simple  principle  of  glory  to  God  and  good- will  to 
men.  Brethren,  I  ask  if  the  solemn  league,  then  struck 
between  private  virtue  and  public  probity,  has  been 
maintained  unimpaired  ?  Yes,  that  trust  in  God,  that 
simple  love  of  Jesus  and  of  those  for  whom  he  died, 
which  prompted  William  Penn  to  come  out  to  this 
new  land,  that  he  might  make  what  he  calls  ^''the  holy 
experiments^'  setting  "  an  example  to  the  nations  of 
a  just  and  righteous  government,"  that  spirit  of  true 
and  universal  brotherhood  which  drew  from  him,  as 
he  stood  unarmed  and  undefended  under  the  great 
elm  at  Shakamaxon,  and  saw  "  as  far  as  his  eyes 
could  carry,"  the  painted  and  plumed  children  of  the 
forest  gazing  upon  him  as  a  new  and  strange  ruler ; 
that  love  to  God  and  man,  which  then  impelled  his 
great  heart  to  say  to  them,  "  I  will  not  call  you 
brothers  or  children,  but  you  shall  be  to  me  and  mine 
as  half  of  the  same  body  ;"  which  two  years  later, 
when  he  left  for  England,  prompted  him  to  send  to 
this  city  of  brotherly  love,  which  he  had  founded,  the 
message,  "And  thou,  Philadelphia,  virgin  of  the  pro- 
vince, my  soul  prays  for  thee,  that  faithful  to  the  God 
of  thy  mercies  in  the  life  of  righteousness,  thou  mayest 
be  preserved  unto  the  end :" — And  again,  when  he 
wrote  replying  to  the  charge,  that  he  had  manifested, 
while  here,  restless  ambition  and  lust  of  gain,  and 
made  this  memorable  prediction,  "  If  friends  here 
(i.  e.  in  Pennsylvania)  keep  to  Crod,  and  in  the  justice, 
mercy,  equity,  and  fear  of  the  Lord,  their  enemies 
will  be  their  footstool ;  if  not,  their  heirs  and  my  heirs 


236  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES,  ^f'*'' 

too,  will  lose  all. "  Brethren !  Has  our  course  as  a  people, 
been  thus  loyal  to  God  ?  Has  it  been  true  to  this, 
Our  beginning — faithful  to  justice,  mercy,  and  the  fear 
of  the  Lord  ?  If  not,  we  may  plume  ourselves  upon 
our  wealth  and  enterprise,  upon  our  far-reaching  do- 
main, upon  our  achievements  in  arts  or  in  arms  ;  but 
we  should  tremble,  when  we  remember  with  whom  as 
a  nation  we  are  to  reckon.  We  should  tremble,  when 
we  consider  that  his  retribution  is  unerring  for  nations 
as  for  individuals,  and,  that  while  in  the  case  of  indi- 
viduals, just  punishment  may  wait  to  another  life,  in 
the  case  of  nations  it  must  fall  here. 

When  we  look  around  us  and  over  the  past,  do  we 
not  see  ruined  empires  almost  without  number ;  once 
the  admiration  of  the  world,  but  now  having  a  name 
only  in  history  ?  Monarchies  and  Republics,  Oligar- 
chies and  Feudalities,  have  all  shared  one  common 
fate,  and  that  fate,  if  it  witness  more  to  one  truth  than 
to  another  or  to  all  others,  it  is  to  the  truth  that  God 
governs  nationalities ;  that  by  Him  kings  reign,  and 
princes  or  people  decree  justice  ;  and  that  his  govern- 
ment is  administered  only  in  righteousness — with 
long-suiFering  patience,  'tis  true — but  yet  with  ultimate 
and  rigid  justice.  Go  to  the  dawn  of  historical  civi- 
lization in  the  East,  trace  the  rise  and  fall  of  one 
nation  after  another,  and  everywhere  as  religion  and 
virtue  decline,  strength  and  glory  decline  with  them, 
till  at  length  we  seem  to  hear  the  great  Ruler  and 
Proprietor  say.  Give  an  account  of  thy  stewardship, 
for  thou  mayest  be  no  longer  steward.  Whether 
theirs  were  the  one  talent,  or  the  five,  or  the  ten,  it 
is  the  same  :  the  portion  of  the  unprofitable  or  unfaith- 
ful steward  is  taken  from  him,  and  given  to  those  who 


THE    STEWARDSHIP   OF   NATIONS.  237 

may  afford  promise  of  more  fidelity.  And  lest  they 
should  glory  in  being  thus  preferred,  a  voice  of  warn- 
ing seems  to  be  addressed  to  them,  as  to  Israel  when 
she  was  about  to  pass  over  Jordan  to  possess  nations 
greater  and  mightier  than  herself.  "  Speak  not  thou 
in  thine  heart,  after  that  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  cast 
them  out  from  before  thee,  saying.  For  my  righteous- 
ness the  Lord  hath  brought  me  in  to  possess  this 
land,  but  for  the  wickedness  of  these  nations  the  Lord 
doth  drive  them  out  before  thee.  And  the  Lord  thy 
God  bringeth  thee  into  a  good  land.  And  when  thou 
hast  eaten  and  art  full,  beware  lest  thou  forget  the 
Lord  thy  God  in  not  keeping  his  commandments ; 
beware,  lest  when  thou  hast  built  goodly  houses,  and 
dwelt  therein,  and  when  thy  herds  and  thy  flocks  mul- 
tiply, and  thy  silver  and  thy  gold  is  multiplied,  and 
all  that  thou  hast  is  multiplied ;  then  thine  heart  be 
lifted  up,  and  thou  say  in  thine  heart,  my  power  and 
the  might  of  mine  hand  hath  gotten  me  this  wealth. 
For  it  shall  be,  if  thou  do  at  all  forget  the  Lord  thy 
God  and  walk  after  other  gods,  I  testify  against  you 
this  day  that  ye  shall  surely  perish." 

Such  is  the  grand  law  not  for  Israel  only,  but  in 
effect  for  all  nations.  To  them  it  was  proclaimed 
through  inspired  Prophets,  sent  on  purpose  ;  to  most 
kingdoms  and  states,  it  has  been  taught  by  the  still 
small  voice  of  conscience  and  reason,  as  well  as  by 
their  experience  that  have  gone  before.  It  tells — this 
law — of  no  manifest  destiny,  of  no  irreversible  fate. 
It  hints  at  no  possible  condition  of  things  which  can 
subvert  the  principles  or  arrest  the  march  of  God's 
superintending  Providence,  which  can  guarantee  per- 
petual and  increasing  greatness,  though  vice  and  ini- 


238  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

quity  abound.  Pharaoh  tried  it,  and  we  see  the  re- 
sult, as  he  and  all  his  formidable  host  went  down,  in 
their  power  and  pomp,  as  lead,  in  the  mighty  waters. 
Nebuchadnezzar  tried  it  when  he  cried,  "  Is  not  this 
great  Babylon,  that  I  have  built  for  the  house  of  the 
kingdom  by  the  might  of  my  power,  and  for  the  honor  of 
my  majesty  ?"  And,  while  the  word  was  in  the  king's 
mouth,  there  fell  a  voice  from  heaven,  saying,  "  0 
King  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  kingdom  is  departed  from 
thee.  And  they  shall  drive  thee  from  men,  and  thy 
dwelling  shall  be  with  the  beasts  of  the  field  ;  they 
shall  make  thee  to  eat  grass  as  oxen,  and  seven  times 
shall  pass  over  thee,  until  thou  know  that  the  Most 
High  ruleth  in  the  kingdom  of  men,  and  giveth  it  to 
whomsoever  he  will."  So  when  you  follow  the  fune- 
ral train  of  the  other  great  nations,  once  known  only 
to  be  feared,  now  remembered  only  to  be  pitied,  you 
everywhere  find  that  they  fell  rather  by  their  own 
suicidal  hand  than  by  foreign  invaders.  First  pufied 
up  with  the  pride  that  betokens  a  fall,  because  it  re- 
laxes effort  and  lulls  vigilance ;  then  given  over  to 
sordid  gains  and  ignoble  pleasures  ;  then  rent  by  the 
strife  of  contending  factions  ;  then  full  of  cruelty  to 
the  weak,  and  of  license  to  the  baser  passions,  and  of 
hatred  of  all  whose  voice  and  example  are  raised  to 
rebuke  the  reigning  degeneracy.  Socrates  and  Cicero, 
Aristides  and  Demosthenes,  are  reckoned  unfit  to  live, 
because  they  protest,  and  warn,  and  will  not  prophecy 
smooth  things.  Neibuhr's  picture  of  Rome,  after  the 
fall  of  the  Republic,  may  stand  as  a  likeness  for  all : 
"  As  regards  the  manners  and  mode  of  life  of  the  Ro- 
mans (says  he),  their  great  object  at  this  time  was 
the  acquisition  and  possession  of  money.   Their  moral 


THE   STEWARDSHIP   OF   NATIONS.  239 

conduct,  which  had  been  corrupt  enough  before  the 
social  war,  became  still  more  so  by  their  systematic 
plunder  and  rapine.  Immense  riches  were  accumu- 
lated and  squandered  upon  brutal  pleasures.  The 
simplicity  of  the  old  manners  and  mode  of  living  had 
been  abandoned  for  Greek  luxuries  and  frivolities, 
and  the  whole  household  arrangements  had  become 
altered.  The  Roman  houses  had  formerly  been  quite 
simple,  and  were  built  mostly  of  brick,  but  now  every 
one  would  live  in  a  splendid  house,  and  be  surrounded 
by  luxuries."  We  know  what  followed.  With  deeper 
degeneracy  came  a  more  profound  self-confidence,  and 
a  more  stolid  indiiference  to  all  but  selfish  pleasure, 
till  not  even  the  tramp  of  barbarian  invaders  could 
disturb  their  security.  As  at  the  Capitol,  so  in  the 
provinces.  Carthage  was  then  called  the  Rome  of 
Africa,  where,  less  than  two  hundred  years  before, 
Cyprian  had  sufi'ered  martyrdom ;  near  which,  only 
nine  years  previous,  Augustine  had  yielded  up  his  life. 
Where  churches  abounded,  and  Christ  was  preached 
by  a  multitude  of  priests  and  deacons  : — Yet  Genseric 
came  with  his  Vandals,  "and  while  his  troops  were 
mounting  the  ramparts,  the  people  were  descending 
to  the  circus.  Without  was  the  tumult  of  arms ; 
within,  the  resounding  echoes  of  the  games.  At  the 
foot  of  the  walls  were  the  shrieks  and  curses  of  those 
who  slipped  in  gore,  and  fell  in  the  melee  ;  on  the 
steps  of  the  amphitheatre  were  the  songs  of  the  musi- 
cians, and  the  sounds  of  accompanying  flutes."  So 
elsewhere.  Too  idle  and  cowardly  to  march  against 
the  conquering  tribes,  the  people  were  still  delighted 
at  seeing  the  agony  of  the  dying  gladiator ;  and,  at 
Treves,  no  sooner  had  the  invaders  finished  their  work 


240  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

of  rapine  and  desolation  than  the  returning  inhabi- 
tants cried  out  for  a  renewal  of  the  Circensian  games. 
In  Cicero's  time,  he  marked  the  beginning  of  this 
most  opprobrious  end,  when  he  said,  speaking  of  the 
Roman  Senate,  "  Beware  of  a  body  who  think  that 
even  though  the  Republic  should  perish,  they  will  be 
able  to  preserve  their  fish-ponds." 

To  hint  that  the  history  of  Rome's  decline  and  fall 
can  be  reproduced  on  our  continent  and  in  our  land 
may  seem  a  dotard's  dream.  But  we  cannot  have 
more  faith  in  our  "  manifest  destiny"  than  they  had 
in  theirs.  And  a  so-called  Christianity,  our  imagined 
panacea  for  all  social  ills,  is  it  not  possible  that  as  it 
failed  to  save  the  Empire,  then  so  it  may  fail,  if  we  do 
not  give  good  heed,  to  save  our  Republic  now  ?  I  look 
at  the  vast  territory,  the  many  tribes  of  people,  the 
diversified  languages  and  civilization,  over  which  the 
Roman  eagles  floated  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries, 
and  everywhere  Christ  seems  to  be  owned.  Temples 
rise  in  his  name  ;  expensive  ofi'erings  are  made,  Alex- 
andria, Antioch,  Carthage,  Constantinople,  Rome,  are 
so  many  splendid  centres  of  the  religion  called  Chris- 
tian. I  look  three  centuries  later,  and  in  all  of  those 
cities  save  one  the  crescent  has  supplanted  the  cross. 

In  the  deserts  of  Arabia  an  obscure  man,  some  say 
ignorant,  some  say  mad,  part  fanatic,  perhaps,  and  part 
impostor,  appears  and  claims  to  be  the  prophet  of  the 
Most  High.  He  preaches  three  years  with  unwearied 
zeal,  and  has  made  but  fourteen  proselytes.  With 
what  supreme  indifference  was  he  regarded  in  the 
splendid  palaces  of  Rome  or  Constantinople  !  With 
what  serene  and  lofty  contempt  was  he  looked  down 
upon  by  philosophers  and  divines,  by  governors  and 


THE   STEWARDSHIP   OF   NATIONS.  241 

Proconsuls  !  That  strange  compound  of  superstition 
and  libertinism,  of  industrial  force  and  unmeasured  self- 
confidence,  which  hangs  as  a  small  cloud  upon  our 
western  horizon  now,  does  not  seem  to  us  one  whit 
more  despicable  than  did  Islamism  for  many  a  year 
to  the  civilized  world,  whether  East  or  West. 

Christianity  is  a  great  conservative  power,  hut  not 
that  Christianity  which  has  lost  its  Christ.  So  long 
as  it  remained  true  to  its  one  work,  and  kept,  through 
humility  and  self-denying  works  of  charity,  near  to 
its  Lord,  so  long  as  his  loving  presence  was  in  the 
sanctuary  and  in  the  hearts  of  his  people,  they  seemed 
to  reanimate  the  waning  civilization  of  the  earth. 
But  when  the  altar  lost  its  fires,  and  the  gold  became 
dim,  and  disputation  took  the  place  of  faith,  and  pa- 
geantry was  substituted  for  the  sacrifice  of  meek  and 
lowly  hearts,  Christianity  was  thenceforth  only  half 
Christian;  it  ceased  to  be  equal  to  the  most  difficult 
of  all  works, — arresting  the  progress  of  social  declen- 
sion. And  when  nations  intrusted  with  such  a  trea- 
sure as  the  Gospel  prove  derelict  to  it,  we  need  not 
wonder  that  they  are  overtaken  by  swift  retribution. 
The  greater  and  more  flagrant  the  dereliction,  the 
quicker  should  be  the  punishment.  Hence  the  strik- 
ing fact  that  the  oldest  empire  and  the  oldest  civiliza- 
tion in  the  world  is  not  Christian  but  Pagan,  while 
most  great  nations  that  profess  the  Gospel  are  of 
recent  origin.  They  who  first  embraced  it  proving 
unfaithful,  were  soon  deprived  of  their  stewardship. 
Others  like  Spain  rose  rapidly  to  a  lordly  eminence, 
but  declined  so  soon  that  now  they  are  hardly  counted 
in  settling  what  is  called  the  balance  of  power.  The 
four  leading  powers  of  the  world,  or  at  least  of  the 

21 


242  DISCOURSES    AND   CHARGES. 

western  portion  of  it,  were  none  of  them  leading 
powers  six  hundred  years  ago.  Four  centuries  ago 
America  was  the  habitation  of  barbarians  only ;  Russia 
was  but  "  one  of  many  races  who  shared  the  plains 
of  Tartary;  the  French  hardly  defended  their  inde- 
pendence against  England  and  Burgundy;  and  the 
English  could  call  their  own,  but  half  a  narrow  island, 
and  their  number  scarcely  perhaps  exceeded  the  pre- 
sent population  of  a  first  class  Chinese  city."  On  the 
other  hand,  China,  because,  faithful  comparatively  to 
the  light  she  had,  has  stood  almost  unchanged  for  two 
thousand  years,  numbering  in  population  one-third  of 
the  human  race,  and  that  population  hardly  surpassed 
on  earth  for  industry,  for  thrift,  for  contentment,  and 
for  order.  In  view  of  such  facts,  does  it  become  us 
to  be  high-minded?  Let  us  rather  fear,  remembering 
"the  goodness  and  severity  of  God;  on  them  which 
fell,  severity ;  but  towards  us  goodness,  if  we  continue 
in  his  goodness ;  otherwise  we  also  shall  be  cut  off." 
Thus,  we  are  brought  to  our  conclusion.  Were 
we  to  look  only  at  the  past,  we  might  conclude  that 
what  has  befallen  other  nations  must,  at  no  distant 
day,  be  our  lot.  The  candle  burns  more  and  more 
dimly,  till  at  last  going  out,  the  candlestick  will  be 
removed.  But,  let  us  thank  God  that  experience  is 
not  our  only  teacher  in  this  case.  He  who  has  pro- 
mised abiding  and  increasing  honor  to  all  who  honor 
him  speaks  to  us  words  of  hope.  He  tells  us  that 
all  depends  on  the  faith  and  virtue  of  the  people, 
and  he  forewarns  us  that,  with  advancing  prosperity, 
these  will  decline,  unless  his  own  people  are  more  than 
ever  steadfast,  prayerful,  watchful.  Our  Master  passes 
us,  now  and  then,  as  he  did  his  chosen  people  of  old, 


THE   STEWARDSHIP   OF   NATIONS.  243 

through  fiery  trials.     This  day,  he  writes  before  all 
eyes,  especially  before  ours,  who,  as  a  people,  have 
on  this  point,  I  fear,  grievously  sinned,  the  peril  and 
the  folly  of  presuming  too  much  on  our  own  wisdom, 
of  imagining  that  our  life  consisteth  in  the  abundance 
of  the  things  that  we  possess,  of  resolving  that  we 
will  be  rich,  and  that  speedily,  though  the  care  of  our 
souls  and  the  proper   training  of  our  children  be 
neglected,  and  though  our  business,  stained  too  much 
with  craft  and  speculation,  be  wanting  in  the  three 
grand  requisites  of  justice,  mercy,  and  the  fear  of  the 
Lord.     No  religion  will  meet  our  social  necessities 
but  one  that  is  simple,  hearty,  and  unworldly ;  one 
that  seeks  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteous- 
ness, nothing  doubting  that  if  we  labor,  and  are  up- 
right, frugal,  and  discreet,  the  Providence  that  feeds 
the  fowls  and  clothes  the  lilies  of  the  field  will  not 
leave  us  destitute.     No  religion  of  pretences   will 
stand  us  in  stead.    Christ,  when  on  earth,  courted  not 
the  society  of  ostentatious  Pharisees,  looked  not  for 
support  to  the  self-complacent  but  hypocritical  reli- 
gionists of  the  day.    Let  us  bethink  ourselves  whether, 
were  he  to  come  again  among  us,  he  might  not  still 
find  too  many  who  draw  near  him  with  the  lips,  while 
their  hearts  are  far  from  him.      To  think  of  that 
august  Presence  in  some  of  our  places  of  business, 
presiding  at  some  of  their  transactions  too,  who  claim 
to  be  foremost  among  his  followers,  looking  into  hearts 
that  are  ready  to  grace  every  proposition  with  a  text, 
and  back  every  argument  with  a  prayer,  and  are  yet 
cold,  grasping,    merciless,    measuring    the   so-called 
munificent  ofi"erings  of  the  rich  to  the  Lord's  treasury 
against   the  poor   widow's   two  mites !      Who    that 


2M  DISCOURSES    AND   CHARGES. 

imagines  this,  does  not  feel  that  our  piety  should  be 
of  a  higher,  holier  type  ?  that  we  need  more  of  the 
humble,  self-condemning  spirit  of  the  publican  in  the 
temple,  more  of  the  open-handed,  high-souled  liberal- 
ity of  Zaccheus  ?  lleligious  faith  is  a  vast  power  in 
almost  every  nation's  history.  Imbedded  in  the  deep- 
est instincts  and  intuitions  of  the  soul,  it  must,  in 
some  form,  blend  itself  with  the  life  of  the  people. 
But  to  be  at  once  a  conservative  and  an  impelling 
force,  guaranteeing  to  the  social  system  all  the  good 
we  have,  and  helping  to  develop  whatever  good  we 
need,  it  must  ally  itself  with  morality  and  with  humil- 
ity before  a  sin-hating  God.  Its  hopes  must  promise 
nothing  to  the  unrelenting  love  or  practice  of  sin. 
A  self-indulgent,  self-complacent  religionism,  loose 
in  its  notions  of  what  we  owe  to  others,  exacting  in 
what  we  think  due  to  ourselves,  striving  to  embrace 
at  once  the  promises  of  heaven  and  the  lying  plausi- 
bilities or  debasing  sensualities  of  earth,  such  a  reli- 
gion has  for  nations  no  power  to  save,  but  only  to 
destroy.  It  may  have  its  open  Bible,  its  Protestant 
and  orthodox  creed,  its  tithe  of  mint,  anise,  and  cum- 
min, but  where  are  the  weightier  matters,  judgment, 
mercy  and  truth  ?  "As  the  body  without  the  spirit  is 
dead,  so  faith  without  works  is  dead  also."  Churches 
without  humility  and  all-embracing  love.  Christians 
without  the  life  of  God  in  their  souls,  followers  of 
Jesus  who  seem  to  know  little  of  the  blessedness 
which  he  affirms  only  of  the  poor  in  spirit,  the  pure 
in  heart,  the  meek  and  merciful,  those  who  hunger 
and  thirst  after  righteousness.  Such  Christians,  such 
churches,  such  creeds  save  and  exalt  a  nation  ?  Never ! 
never  !     The  appointed  regenerators  of  the  world  are 


THE   STEWARDSHIP   OF   NATIONS.  245 

Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity,  not  faith  without  charity, 
not  hope  without  faith,  but  all  three  as  one.  "  And 
here  abideth  faith,  hope,  and  charity,  these  three,  hut 
the  greatest  of  these  is  Charity,'^ 

Have  I  spoken  of  our  future  with  distrust  and 
doubt  ?  It  is  not  that  I  despair.  It  is  not  that  I  am 
unable  or  unwilling  to  discern  how  much  there  is  in 
our  condition  to  excite  to  hope,  to  inspire  confidence. 
I  see  it  with  exulting  pride.  Yes,  "  I  can  see,"  to 
borrow  the  strain  of  Milton,  the  great  republican  of 
England,  when  speaking  of  his  own  land  under  the 
Commonwealth,  "  I  can  see,  methinks,  in  my  mind's 
eye  a  noble  and  puissant  nation,  rousing  herself  like 
a  strong  man  after  sleep,  and  shaking  her  invincible 
locks.  Methinks  I  see  her  as  an  eagle,  nursing  her 
mighty  youth,  and  kindling  her  undazzled  eyes  at  the 
full  midday  beam  ;  purging  and  unsealing  her  sight 
at  the  fountain  itself  of  heavenly  radiance,  while  the 
whole  noise  of  timorous  and  flocking  birds,  with  those 
also  that  love  the  twilight,  flutter  about  amazed  at 
what  she  means."  "I  see  her  a  city  of  refuge,  the 
mansion-house  of  liberty,  encompassed  and  surrounded 
with  Divine  protection,  where  there  are  not  more  in- 
struments for  the  defence  of  justice  or  beleagured  truth, 
than  there  be  pens  and  heads  sitting  by  their  studious 
lamps,  musing,  searching,  and  revolving  new  notions 
and  ideas  wherewith  to  present,  as  with  their  homage 
and  their  fealty,  the  approaching  future,  and  others 
as  fast  reading,  trying  all  things,  assenting  to  the 
force  of  reason  and  convincement."  Glorious  vision 
of  a  day,  however,  that  may  be  overcast — that  in 
England's  case  was  overcast  speedily.  It  was  painted 
by  the  great  poet  and  patriot  but  a  very  few  years 

21^ 


246  DISCOURSES   AND    CHARGES. 

before  that  land  fell  back,  under  Charles  II,  into 
the  lowest  depth  of  the  lowest  despotism.  Prosperity, 
always  dangerous,  is  specially  dangerous  in  free 
states.  All  these  mighty  energies  in  which  we  so 
exult  may,  in  our  case,  as  in  hers,  be  turned  on  the 
citadel  of  our  own  national  life,  and  spend  themselves 
in  the  work  of  self-destruction.  "  Let  us  not  then  be 
high-minded,  but  fear."  The  grand  secret  of  a  nation's 
enduring  and  advancing  greatness  is  to  combine  with 
a  consciousness  of  her  gifts,  a  proper  sense  of  her 
dangers,  and  difficulties,  and  responsibilities.  "  Be- 
hold, therefore,  the  goodness  and  severity  of  God. 
On  them  which  fell,  severity ;  toward  thee,  goodness, 
if  thou  continue  in  his  goodness,  otherwise  thou  also 
shalt  be  cut  off." 


PLEA  FOR   SAILORS. 


A  SERMON  *  >* 


"And  he  began  again  to  teach  by  the  sea-side,  and  there  was 
gathered  unto  him  a  great  multitude,  so  that  he  entered  into  a 
ship  and  sat  in  the  sea ;  and  the  whole  multitude  was  by  the 
sea,  on  the  land,  and  he  taught  them  many  things." — St.  Mark, 
ch.  iv,  1st  and  part  of  2d  verse. 

The  Sea  of  Galilee  which  is  here  referred  to  was, 
to  the  neighboring  districts,  what  the  high  seas  or 
oceans  of  the  globe  now  are  to  the  countries  that  sur- 
round them.  A  small  lake,  not  more  than  twelve 
miles  in  length  and  six  in  breadth,  it  was  yet  to  those 
who  dwelt  near  it,  at  once  their  fishing  ground,  the 
highway  on  which  they  travelled,  and  the  means  of 
facilitating  their  exchanges  in  trade.  We  need  not 
wonder  then  that  its  shores  were  studded  with  popu- 
lous villages  ;  nor  that  the  Saviour,  when  he  would 
gather  about  him  a  multitude  to  hear  the  words  of 
eternal  life,  went  often  and  again  to  teach — as  the 
evangelist  has  it — hy  the  sea-side.  In  the  station 
which  he  occupies — sitting  on  the  vessel  as  it  rests  on 
the  calm  waters  of  the  lake,  and  preaching  to  the 
thronged  multitude  on  the  shore — he  seems  to  pre- 
figure the  part  which  the  great  ocean  was  to  bear  in 
carrying  the  Gospel  over  the  world ;  while  the  fre- 

*  Preached  on  the  occasion  of  forming  the  Churchman's 
Missionary  Association  for  Seamen,  Philadelphia,  Febuary,  1848. 


250  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

quency*  with  which  he  thus  resorts  to  the  sea-side, 
may  well  suggest  to  us  the  duty  we  owe  to  the  great 
commercial  marts  of  the  earth.  With  her  compass 
and  needle,  Commerce  has  now  pushed  far  beyond 
what  were  once  regarded  as  her  utmost  limits,  and 
she  finds  her  home  to-night  around  the  shores  and  on 
the  bosom  of  what  were  then  only  pathless  and  un- 
known seas.  Her  great  cities  now  rise  round  their 
margin.  And  it  is  in  these  cities  that  multitudes  not 
only  dwell,  but  dwell  in  the  midst  of  the  most  wakeful 
activity — of  the  most  stirring  and  thoughtful  enter- 
prise. These  then  are  the  places  where  the  Gospel 
is  most  needed,  where  its  truths  can  be  propagated 
most  rapidly,  and  from  whence  they  can  go  forth, 
with  most  effect,  to  bless  the  world. 

Observe,  however,  that  Christ  had  compassion  not 
on  those  only  who  came  to  him  from  the  adjoining 
cities  and  villages.  He  often  passed  to  and  fro  on 
the  lake  itself,  and  held  communion  with  those  who 
toiled  on  its  waters.  Of  his  twelve  Apostles,  four,  as  we 
have  seen  in  the  lesson  of  this  evening  (St.  Mark.  chap, 
i)  were  called  in  one  day  from  their  nets  and  ships, 
to  enjoy  and  to  proclaim  his  grace.  What  then  do  not 
the  followers  of  Christ  now  owe  to  them  who  go  down 
to  the  sea  in  ships  and  do  business  on  the  great 
waters  ?  Everything  in  their  condition  is  fitted  to 
move  the  sympathies  of  a  Christian  heart.  Their 
peculiar  privations — their  many  and  great  dangers — 
their  sore  trials  and  temptations — their  migratory  life, 
carrying  them  to  all  parts  of  the  earth  and  giving 
them  access  to  so  many  different  minds — does  not  all 
this,  with  their  warmth  of  heart  and  almost  childlike 

*  Four  instances  occur  in  the  first  three  chapters  of  St.  Mark's 
Gospel. 


CLAIMS   OF   SEAMEN.  251 

simplicity,  entitle  them  to  a  peculiar  place  in  our  re- 
membrance, while  it  makes  it  unspeakably  important 
to  the  world  that  they  too  should  be  called  with  an 
effectual  calling  to  Christ's  service. 

Yet  what  until  lately  has  been  their  state?  Agents 
of  immense  good  to  the  world — agents  of  good  above 
all  to  Christendom  and  especially  to  Protestant 
Christendom,  still  sailors  have  not  been  remembered ; 
or  they  have  been  remembered,  often,  only  to  be  cor- 
rupted and  wronged.  Of  those  who  thirty  years  since 
profited  by  the  toils  and  perils  of  the  seaman,  how 
many  reflected  that  he  had  a  soul — how  many  even 
that  he  was  a  man^  with  the  sensibilities,  the  capa- 
cities, the  rights  of  a  man.  His  very  name,  was  it 
not  synonymous  with  recklessness  and  vagrancy  ? 
Nay  more, — was  it  not  synonymous  with  drunken- 
ness, debauchery,  and  a  God-defying  impiety  ?  With- 
out fear  of  Heaven,  it  is  not  strange  that  he  had  cast 
off  regard  for  man.  Often  he  knew  no  home  but  the 
ruthless  sea ;  he  had  no  friends  but  some  chance  ship- 
mate ;  he  owned  no  power  above  him,  but  that  which 
paced  the  quarter-deck ;  and  he  thought  not  beyond 
the  brief  term  of  his  voyage.  Picked  up  at  the 
beginning  of  it  as  a  machine,  that  could  climb  the 
mast  and  trim  the  sail  and  keep  the  look-out ;  thrust 
aside  at  its  end  as  a  machine  no  longer  needed,  and 
therefore  no  longer  cared  for,  he  rushed  from  the 
despotism  of  the  ship  to  the  licentious  freedom  of  the 
shore— that  shore  where  men  smiled  only  to  betray, 
where  women  courted  only  to  pollute,  and  doors  were 
opened  only  to  decoy  and  plunder  him.  When  the 
crew  of  a  vessel  was  discharged,  as  it  came  into  port, 
what  was  expected  from  them  ?     If  in  their  own 


252  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

country,  was  it  expected  that  they  would  save  their 
earnings,  visit  their  friends,  respect  the  proprieties  of 
life,  reverence  the  law  of  the  land?  If  they  were 
strangers  in  a  strange  land,  was  it  expected  that  they 
would  be  objects  of  hospitality  and  kindness  ?  No, 
not  even  those  who  employed  them,  who  extracted 
riches  from  their  toil,  and  luxuries  from  their  priva- 
tions, not  even  they  were  usually  kind.  How  much 
less  those  who  dwelt  afar  oflf.  Every  man's  hand 
seemed  to  be  against  the  sailor,  and  we  need  not 
wonder  if  the  sailor's  hand  was  against  every  man. 
They  were  indeed  the  Ishmaelites  of  the  sea.  No 
Saviour  came  down  to  the  shore  to  say  to  them 
Repent,  and  he  at  'peace  with  God.  No  John  the 
Baptist  lifted  up  his  voice  to  them,  as  they  were 
tossed  to  and  fro  on  the  wilderness  of  waters.  At  sea 
there  was  no  man  to  care  for  their  souls,  and  on  land 
men  lay  in  wait  to  make  them  a  prey. 

Thus  it  was—and  thus  it  too  often  is,  even  now. 
Let  us  thank  God,  however,  that  a  brighter  day  for 
sailors  begins,  as  we  trust,  to  dawn.  Much  was  done 
for  them,  when,  some  twenty-five  years  ago,  Christians 
in  England  and  in  America,  first  awoke  to  the  truth 
that  those  who  live  on  the  waters  are  entitled  to  the 
Gospel,  no  less  than  they  who  live  on  the  land,  and  • 
that  as  men  they  must  have  hearts  to  feel  its  power. 
Yet  more  was  done  when  the  conviction  of  that  truth 
ripened  into  action ;  when  missions  among  seamen 
were  established  ;  when  afterwards  the  intoxicating 
cup  was  banished  from  a  large  portion  of  our  mer- 
chant vessels,  and  when  in  some  of  them  the  rough 
discipline  of  the  deck  and  the  comfortless  cheer  of 
the  forecastle  were  improved.     And  the  results — how 


CLAIMS   OF   SEAMEN.  253 

cheering  !  They  have  demonstrated  not  merely  that 
these  men  can  be  reached — not  merely  that  here,  as 
everywhere,  God's  blessing  will  follow  faithful  efforts 
to  proclaim  his  truth  and  save  souls  ;  they  show  that 
this  is  the  effort  on  which  God  seems  to  vouchsafe  his 
peculiar  smiles.  In  proportion  to  the  means  em- 
ployed and  the  difficulties  to  be  vanquished,  no  mis- 
sions were  ever  more  successful  than  those  among 
seamen.  Twenty  years  ago,  a  pious  sailor,  whether 
in  the  navies  of  England  and  America,  or  in  their 
merchant  service,  was  almost  unknown  ; — officers  and 
men  alike  seemed  to  agree  with  the  world  at  large,  in 
thinking,  that  religion  was  not  made  for  sailors.  Now 
it  is  computed,  that  among  the  seamen  of  these  two 
countries,  there  are  not  less  than  ten  thousand  who 
are  communicants  of  some  Christian  denomination. 
It  is  said  too,  that  there  are  eight  hundred  captains 
of  vessels,  who  glory  in  the  service  of  a  heavenly 
Master,  and  whose  crews  are  almost  invariably  dis- 
tinguished by  their  orderly  and  contented  spirit.  In 
the  American  navy,  it  is  not  known  that  there  were, 
fifteen  years  since,  among  all  its  officers,  more  than 
one  or  two  communicants.  There  are  now  more  than 
one  hundred,  and  many  of  them  occupy  high  positions. 
On  board  our  cruisers  at  distant  stations,  where 
hardly  any  human  agency  was  employed,  a  deep  soli- 
citude respecting  religion  has  arisen  in  more  than  one 
instance,  and  groups  of  sailors  have  been  found  in  the 
darkness  of  the  night,  offering  up  their  united  prayers 
for  God's  grace  to  make  them  Christians.  In  some 
instances  means  apparently  the  most  inadequate  have 
become  a  blessing  to  a  whole  ship's  company ;  and  it 
is  said  that  throughout  the  American  navy,  where 

22 


254  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

religious  zeal  was  once  either  ridiculed  or  persecuted, 
it  is  now  not  only  tolerated,  but  respected  and  even 
honored. 

And  what  do  these  results  say  to  us  ?     Do  they 
not  say,  "go  forward?"    God  gives  such  success,  not 
to  supersede  effort,  but  to  reward  and  animate  it.     So 
much  as  will  quicken  prayer  and  redouble  zeal,  he 
vouchsafes  ;  but  it  is  only  that  he  may  leave  it  to  his 
people  to  say  whether  that  success  shall  continue  and 
be  progressive.     There  is  still  much  land  to  be  pos- 
sessed.    The  little  one  is  still  to  become  a  thousand, 
and  the  small  one  a  strong  nation.     When  you  com- 
pare what  has  been  done,  with  what  remains  undone, 
you  must  feel  that  there  is  urgent  need  of  more  ex- 
ertion.    In  this  country  and  England  alone,  there  are 
probably  two  millions  of  men  who  labor  on  the  water 
as  seamen  or  watermen — men  who  are  mostly  in  the 
prime  of  life,  with  passions  that  need  all  the  restraints 
■of  religion,  and  temptations  that  might  endanger  the 
virtue  of  established  Christians.     They  are  men,  too, 
who  need  specific  religious  instruction.    Sailors,  espe- 
cially those  on  the  high  seas,  are  gregarious.     They 
shun  promiscuous  assemblies.     As  they  will  live  only 
in  sailor  boarding-houses,   and  associate  only  with 
sailor  companions,  so,  for  the  present  at  least,  they 
will  frequent  only  sailor  churches.    And  how  far  have 
these  been  provided  ?     In  our  own  land,  I  speak  with- 
out exaggeration  when  I  say,  that  they  are  insufficient 
for  the  accommodation  of  one-third  of  those  who  are 
temporarily   on   shore.      In   Philadelphia,    where    I 
believe  the  first  effort  in  behalf  of  American  seamen 
was  made,  and  where,  in  proportion  to  the  wealth  and 
population,  there  is  but  little  commerce  and  much 


CLAIMS   OP   SEAMEN.  255 

philanthropic  zeal,  there  may  be  accommodation  now 
for  one  thousand  sailors  ;  whereas  it  is  supposed  that 
there  are  more  than  two  thousand  constantly  in  port, 
besides  those  who  belong  to  the  navy,  and  besides 
those,  too,  who  are  engaged  in  the  navigation  of  rivers 
and  canajs.  What  must  it  be  then  along  our  coasts, 
in  smaller  towns,  with  a  larger  proportional  trade  ? 
Consider,  too,  that  nearly  all  sailors  on  shore  might 
iattend  church — sickness  being  their  only  obstacle. 
Consider,  moreover,  how  our  commerce  is  extending. 
Year  by  year  it  stretches  out  its  arms,  till  now  our 
whalers  are  in  every  sea, — our  traders  in  every  harbor, 
and  even  along  every  barbarous  shore.  From  a  recent 
report  made  by  the  Navy  Department,  it  would  seem 
that  the  tonnage  of  the  United  States  employed  in 
trade,  is  at  this  moment  but  one-fifth  less  than  hers 
who  has  so  long  written  herself  undisputed  mistress 
of  the  seas.     What  then  must  it  be  ten  years  hence  ? 

They  are  facts  like  these  which  have  recently  led 
to  the  formation  of  the  Churchmen' 8  Missionary 
Association  for  Seamen  of  the  Port  of  Philadelphia, 
Its  members  and  managers  propose,  with  God's  bless- 
ing and  the  aid  of  the  benevolent,  to  construct  a 
floating  churchy  which  shall  lie  at  your  wharves,  and 
which  shall  open  its  doors,  each  Lord's  day,  to  those 
who  live  on  the  water.  I  desire  to  bespeak  for  this 
effort  your  prayers  and  your  active  co-operation. 
Such  a  church  is  needed.  It  is  needed,  because  ex- 
isting means  for  the  religious  improvement  of  seamen 
are  inadequate.  It  is  needed,  too,  because  as  2^  float- 
ing edifice,  throwing  out  its  flag  among  the  masts 
and  spars  of  your  shipping,  it  will  be  more  likely  to 


256  DISCOURSES    AND    CHARGES. 

attract  the  sailor's  attention,  and  will  commend  itself 
more  warmly  to  his  professional  sympathies.  It  can 
be  erected  at  a  cost  much  less  than  would  be  needed 
for  a  building  and  the  necessary  land  on  shore  ;  it 
will  be  less  exposed  to  danger  from  fire  ;  and  it  can 
be  readily  moved  from  one  point  to  another,  should 
changes  in  the  commerce  of  the  city  or  other  causes 
render  removal  expedient.  And  further,  such  an 
edifice  is  needed,  that  there  may  be  at  least  one 
place,  where  the  sailor  can  worship  according  to  the 
order  of  our  own  church.  Not  a  few  of  our  seamen, 
natives  and  foreigners,  are  the  children  of  Episco- 
palians. Others  have  been  brought  into  contact  with 
our  services,  in  the  navy,  or  in  distant  lands.  Others 
again  are  attracted  to  them  by  their  social  and  re- 
sponsive character;  and  others  by  their  chastened 
fervor  and  orderly  administration.  But  that  which, 
beyond  all  else,  wins  the  sailor's  preference  towards 
us,  is  our  Prayer  Book.  In  one  small  volume,  which 
he  can  carry  always  about  him,  he  has  exhaustless 
sources  of  instruction  and  comfort  ; — choice  and 
copious  extracts  from  Scripture  for  every  day ; 
prayers  and  thanksgivings  suited  to  the  manifold 
changes  of  his  eventful  life  ;  deep  confessions  of  sin  ; 
ardent  ascriptions  of  praise  and  thanksgiving — the 
vows  that  he  made,  or  that  were  made  for  him  at 
baptism — solemn  appeals  addressed  both  to  those  who 
neglect  and  to  those  who  celebrate  the  Lord's  supper 
— devout  hymns,  in  which  his  whole  heart  can  pour 
itself  out  in  melody  before  the  Lord,  with  creeds  and 
more  extended  expositions  of  a  Christian's  faith. 
These — must  they  not  be  to  him  a  perpetual  well- 
spring  of  blessing  and  delight,  if  he  be  only  led, 


CLAIMS   OF   SEAMEN.  257 

when  on  shore,  by  uniting  in  our  public  worship,  to 
use,  to  appreciate,  and  to  enjoy  them  ? 

And  yet,  what,  thus  far,  has  the  church  of  American 
Episcopalians — the  church  blessed  by  this  book  of 
Common  Prayer,  done  for  Sailors  ?  In  whatever 
proportion  she  has  peculiar  means  for  promoting  their 
welfare,  is  she  not  bound  in  the  same  proportion  to 
use  them  ?  As  a  church,  too,  planted  especially  in 
large  cities,  and  embracing,  within  her  pale,  multi- 
tudes who  are  engaged  in  commerce,  are  not  her  re- 
sulting obligations  the  more  imperative  ?  We  ask,  then, 
what  has  this  Church  done,  as  yet,  for  sailors  ?  But 
three  or  four  chapels,  where  they  can  worship  accord- 
ing to  the  order  of  our  service,  have  been  opened 
along  the  whole  extent  of  our  seaboard ;  and  these 
have  been  opened  only  within  the  last  six  or  seven 
years.  To  those  bearing  other  Christian  names,  we 
have  left  the  toil  and  the  glory  of  conducting  the 
sailors'  worship  and  breaking  to  them  the  bread  of 
life.  Well,  then,  may  we  blush  for  the  past,  while 
we  bless  God  that  our  supineness  is  at  length  disturbed 
— that  while  we  commend  the  noble  zeal  of  others, 
we  have  come  at  last  to  feel  the  awakening  influence 
of  their  example — that  we  are  now  bent  on  sharing 
in  the  burden  of  this  work,  and  are  resolved  that  if 
sailors  be  not  won  to  the  faith  and  obedience  of  Christ 
and  him  crucified,  the  fault  shall  not  be  ours. 

I  ask  your  attention  to  a  few  of  the  reasons  why 
we  should  co-operate  in  this  undertaking. 

I.  We  should  do  it,  in  the  first  place,  for  our  own 
sakes.  Independent  of  our  religious  obligations,  we 
have  all  of  us  a  present  and  even  a  pecuniary  interest 

22* 


258  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

in  the  improvement  of  seamen.  I  should  hesitate  to 
present  such  a  motive,  did  I  not  remember  that  the 
Saviour  promised  earthly  as  well  as  heavenly  rewards, 
and  gave  his  pledge  that  they  who  seek  first  of  all, 
for  themselves  and  others,  the  kingdom  of  God  and 
His  righteousness,  shall  find  at  last  that  godliness  is 
great  gain,  even  in  respect  to  the  life  that  now  is. 
Let  me  suggest,  then,  that  in  christianizing  sailors, 
we  add  value  to  whatever  we  intrust  to  their  care. 
Mere  abstinence  from  ardent  spirits,  by  a  ship's  crew, 
when  at  sea,  is  known  to  increase  so  materially  the 
safety  of  the  vessel  and  cargo,  that  they  can  be  in- 
sured at  considerably  lower  than  ordinary  rates.  In 
other  words,  there  is  pecuniary  gain  to  those  who  own 
the  vessel,  to  those  who  own  the  cargo,  and,  of  course, 
also  to  those  by  whom  that  cargo  is  to  be  purchased 
and  consumed, — from  the  simple  circumstance  that 
the  seamen,  officers  and  men,  can  be  kept  sober  while 
on  shipboard.  How  would  it  be,  then,  if  they  could 
be  kept  equally  sober  when  on  shore  ;  if,  when  they 
come  on  board  to  begin  a  voyage,  they  had  the  vigor, 
the  steadiness  of  nerve,  and  mental  activity  of  the 
temperate  man,  instead  of  the  debility  and  the  dulness 
of  the  sot  ?  And,  suppose  that  they  were  not  only 
sober  at  all  times,  but  were  also  honest,  self-respecting. 
God-fearing  men, — anxious  to  do  justly  by  their  em- 
ployers, and  to  deal  kindly  and  truly  by  each  other. 
Would  they  not  be  more  efficient  and  trustworthy, — 
alike  in  sunshine  and  in  storm  ?  Would  they  not  be 
more  vigilant  when  keeping  their  lone  watches  at 
night,  and  more  earnest  in  all  efforts  that  are  needed 
to  make  the  voyage  at  once  quick  and  prosperous  ? 
To  elevate  the  character  of  a  workman  is  to  add — 


CLAIMS   OF   SEAMEN.  259 

always  and  everywhere — to  the  value  of  Ms  services. 
Even  now,  the  intellectual  and  moral  superiority  of 
our  seamen,  gives  us  immense  advantages  over  foreign 
nations  in  the  competitions  of  trade.  If  I  mistake 
not,  an  American  vessel  puts  to  sea  for  a  voyage  round 
Cape  Horn,  or  round  the  world,  with  a  number  of 
men,  which  in  most  other  countries  would  be  thought 
wholly  inadequate.  What  then,  would  be  the  result, 
were  the  men  who  navigate  our  vessels  not  only  supe- 
rior to  those  of  other  lands,  but  as  virtuous  and  as 
efficient  as  religion  might  make  them  ? 

But,  is  it  the  safety  and  value  of  property  only 
that  we  increase,  by  raising  and  improving  the  sea- 
men ?  Life^  too,  is  intrusted  to  his  keeping — and  in 
this  busy  locomotive  age,  there  is  scarcely  one  of  us 
who  is  not  often  in  danger  merely  from  the  reckless- 
ness, intemperance,  and  want  of  principle,  which  pre- 
vail among  too  many  who  labor  on  our  w^aters. 

But  alas !  there  is  that  involved  which  is  more  pre- 
cious than  either  life  or  property,  and  that  is  our  do- 
mestic peace  and  happiness.  How  many  of  us  may 
have  sons,  brothers,  friends,  who  will  be  called  by 
duty  or  interest  to  live  on  the  sea !  Perhaps,  at  a 
tender  age,  one  whom  we  love  as  the  apple  of  our 
eye,  may  be  placed  on  shipboard  He  has,  as  yet, 
little  of  the  force  that  can  bid  defiance  to  temptation  ; 
nor  is  he  hardened  to  the  toils  and  privations  even  of 
a  landsman's  life.  He  may  be  one,  too,  whose  inno- 
cence has  already  yielded  before  the  seductions  of  the 
city  or  the  country,  and  now  as  a  last  resort,  we  con- 
sign him  to  the  restraints  of  a  long  voyage,  where  he 
cannot  reach  the  maddening  bowl ;  where  the  theatre, 
the  gaming  table,  and  the  brothel,  cannot  draw  around 


260  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

him  their  charmed  circles,  nor  practise  upon  him  their 
foul  sorceries ;  where  there  must  be  hard  fare,  hard 
work,  and  implicit  obedience,  and  where  now  and  then 
there  may  be  a  solitary  hour  for  reflection,  and  with 
God's  blessing,  for  repentance  and  amendment.  Me- 
thinks  I  see  a  father,  his  heart  nearly  broken  by  the 
follies  and  extravagance  of  one  whom  he  has  fondly 
cherished.  Commands,  remonstrances,  entreaties,  all 
have  proved  vain.  As  his  only  hope,  he  betakes  him 
to  a  vessel  bound  to  some  far-distant  land,  and  there, 
with  many  an  anxious  request  to  the  officers — solemn 
charges  to  himself — earnest,  agonizing  prayers  to 
God,  he  leaves  all  that  remains  to  him  of  what  was 
once  his  darling  boy.  With  speechless  anguish  he 
turns  back  to  comfort  her  who  bears  the  whole  weight 
of  a  mother's  bitterest  sorrow,  and  whose  meek  spirit 
seems  ready  to  fail  beneath  that  load  which  she  would 
fain  carry  with  a  brave,  an  uncomplaining  heart. 
Alas  !  fond  parents  !  heart-stricken  mourners !  where 
shall  we  find  words  of  comfort  for  you  ?  Know  you 
the  companions  with  whom  your  child  may  be  consort- 
ing now  ?  The  forecastle — the  deck — are  they  in 
their  present  state  likely  to  prove  schools  of  reforma- 
tion ?  The  men  who  compose  most  crews,  are  they 
men  whose  examples  you  would  have  your  son  follow 
— who  will  plead  with  him  to  abandon  his  vices,  and 
retrace  his  steps  to  a  life  of  manliness  and  virtue  ? 
When  he  reaches  the  freedom  of  some  foreign  port, 
will  they  be  the  guides  and  counsellors  for  his  inexpe- 
rience ?  Had  he  been  sentenced  to  yonder  peniten- 
tiary, he  would  not  have  been  without  kind  friends, 
and  sympathizing,  pious  counsellors.  He  would  at 
least  have  gained  seclusion  from  base  and  profligate 


CLAIMS    OF    SEAMEN.  261 

companions.  But  in  that  floating  prison  to  which 
you,  in  your  despair,  or  shame,  or  weariness,  have 
sentenced  him,  too  often  there  is  there  only  contami- 
nation. Strange  will  it  be  if,  under  such  discipline, 
he  does  not  wax  worse  and  worse  ;  if  from  such  an 
exile  he  does  not  come  back  to  you  more  besotted  in 
his  tastes  and  more  madly  bent  on  ruin.  No  !  if  we 
would  use  ships  as  means  of  reclaiming  prodigal  sons 
or  reckless  friends — and  who  knows  how  soon  we  may 
have  occasion  to  do  so — we  must  see  to  it  that  they 
are  purged.  We  must  see  to  it  that  they  to  whose 
care  and  fellowship  we  commit  our  erring,  or  our  un~ 
corrupted  youth,  are  men  who  fear  God,  and  who 
will  delight  in  saving  a  soul  from  death. 

II.  But  again,  in  the  efforts  now  making  for  the 
sailor's  welfare,  we  should  co-operate  for  his  sake. 
Justice  and  humanity  both  plead  with  loud  and  ear- 
nest tones  in  his  behalf,  who  has  toiled  so  efficiently 
in  ours.  What  do  we  not  owe.  Brethren,  to  the  hardy 
and  intrepid  mariner  ?  How,  but  for  his  toils  and  his 
dangers,  could  we  surround  ourselves  with  the  pro- 
ducts of  every  clime,  and  the  creations  of  every  art  ? 
It  is  the  sailor  who  bears  to  us  in  safety  from  the 
remotest  regions,  food  for  our  nourishment ;  fruits 
and  spices  for  our  refreshment;  medicines  for  our 
diseases ;  costly  gems  and  fine  fabrics  and  curious 
devices  for  our  ornament  and  delight.  He  does  more. 
Science  can  make  no  discovery ;  ingenuity  can  frame 
no  new  instrument  of  production  ;  creative  genius  can 
give  birth  to  no  new,  spirit-stirring,  or  soul-enlarging 
thought — no  new  forms  of  beauty  or  grandeur  can 
start  from  the  canvas  of  the  painter,  or  the  marble  of 


262  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

the  sculptor,  that  the  sailor  does  not  take  them  and 
bear  them  in  safety  and  with  quick  despatch  to  our 
own  doors.  It  is  through  him  that  we  naturalize^  as 
it  were,  on  our  own  soil,  and  within  our  own  homes, 
the  combined  fruits  of  man's  intellect,  and  of  nature's 
powers  over  all  the  gbbe.  And  what  does  he  receive 
in  return  ?  Is  it  not  well,  as  we  pass  those  shops 
where  wares  are  gathered  in  such  gay  and  gorgeous 
profusion  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  to  think  now 
and  then  of  him  who  gathered  them  ?  Is  it  not  well, 
as  we  look  on  all  the  splendid  array  which  adorns  the 
mansions  of  wealth  and  taste ;  as  we  consider  how 
contributions  have  been  levied  through  the  sailor,  on 
the  industry  of  every  land,  and  the  natural  resources 
of  every  people,  that  one  sumptuous  dwelling-place 
may  be  provided  for  man,  whose  breath  is  in  his  nos- 
trils:— Oh !  is  it  not  well,  sometimes,  to  ask  what  is 
that  sailor  himself  the  better,  the  wiser,  for  all  this  ? 
Extending,  all-enriching  Commerce,  what  has  she 
brought  to  her  own  laborer?  Look  at  him  in  his 
hammock  !  Look  at  him  at  his  meals,  without  fork, 
or  plate,  or  table  !  Look  at  him  as  he  is  stowed  away 
in  most  vessels^  in  the  narrowest  space,  and  in  the 
most  comfortless  apartment !  He  is  freight  that 
does  not  pay — and  he  must  give  place  therefore  to 
that  which  does.  Look  at  him  as  he  reaches  the 
haven  where  he  would  not  be  !  a  prey  it  may  be  to 
harpies,  who  stupify  him  with  drugged  liquor,  rob 
him  in  a  few  days  of  all  his  earnings,  ship  him  when 
intoxicated  for  another  voyage,  and  then  seize  part  of 
his  wages  in  advance.  And  look  at  him  when  he 
comes  at  last  to  the  end  of  life's  voyage,  to  the  crisis 
of  his  long  and  fitful  fever,  and  dies  as  the  fool  dieth. 


CLAIMS   OF   SEAMEN.  268 

The  very  man  through  whom  commerce  has  achieved 
its  triumphs  and  dispensed  its  blessings,  is  this  to  be 
his  lot  ?  Is  he  to  be  the  only  ome  who  is  to  have  no 
share  in  these  blessings  or  triumphs — nay,  is  his  de- 
gradation and  ruin  to  be  the  awful  price  at  which  we 
win  them  ? — I  will  not  believe  it.  I  can  understand 
why  the  grim  monster  War — stained  with  blood  and 
orphans'  tears — should  first  debase,  and  then  sacri- 
fice his  ministering  servants ;  but  I  cannot  understand 
why  this  must  needs  be  the  case  with  peaceful  and 
beneficent  Commerce.  I  see  it  to  be  usual,  but  I  can- 
not believe  it  to  be  necessary.  Were  it  so — did  it 
become  certain  that  Commerce  could  move  forward 
with  all  its  magnificent  train  of  benefits  and  blessings, 
only  by  degrading  and  sacrificing  even  the  humblest 
of  its  human  instruments,  then  I  would  say,  let  Com- 
merce be  stayed.  Let  her  sails  be  furled,  and  her 
fires  be  put  out.  The  human  soul  is  worth  more  than 
Commerce.  Let  her  hardy  but  neglected  and  injured 
servants  go  back  to  the  farm  and  the  workshop,  where 
they  can  share  in  the  comforts,  and  claim  the  spiritual 
rights,  and  enjoy  the  social  prerogatives  of  our  com- 
mon humanity. 

Brethren  !  here  is  a  question  which,  as  it  seems  to 
me,  is  big  with  interest  to  every  philanthropist ;  nor 
to  every  philanthropist  alone,  but  to  every  thought- 
ful man.  In  order  that  wealth  may  increase,  must 
poverty  and  wretchedness  increase  too,  and  even  in  a 
more  rapid  ratio  ?  Must  men  decay,  in  order  that 
arts  or  trade  may  flourish  ?  Without  attempting  any 
discussion,  here  and  now,  of  this  the  most  momentous 
problem  of  social  science,  a  problem  which  is  now 


264  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

challenging  our  consideration  from  every  quarter,  I 
will  only  say  that  the  tendency  always  apparent, 
more  apparent  now  only  because  creative  industry  is 
now  more  active  and  universal — the  seeming  ten- 
dency of  the  poor  to  become  poorer  at  the  same  time, 
and,  in  part,  by  the  very  same  means,  that  the  rich 
become  richer — the  seeming  tendency  of  certain  in- 
dustrious pursuits,  such  as  commerce  and  manufac- 
tures, to  impair  the  moral  force,  and  deteriorate  the 
spiritual  prospects  of  their  operative  agents,  is  a  ten- 
dency that  can  be  arrested  by  moral  means  alone. 
Material  expedients,  whether  in  the  shape  of  poor 
laws,  sumptuary  laws,  or  agrarian  laws — all  expe- 
dients, in  fine,  which  do  not  go  to  ennoble  and  purify 
the  man — employed  and  employer — which  do  not  go 
to  make  both  parties,  and  especially  the  laborer,  en- 
lightened, upright,  and  pious,  will  fail,  as  they  always 
have  failed^  and  as  they  always  ought  to  fail.  The 
enlightening,  purifying,  and  saving  of  man's  immortal 
mind,  is  the  ultimate  end  of  all  industry  and  all  legis- 
lation, as  well  as  of  all  science  and  all  religion.  That 
end  attained,  the  relations  of  capital  and  labor,  of 
employers  and  employed,  will  adjust  themselves. 
That  end  neglected,  adjustment  becomes  impossible ; 
because  its  most  essential  element  is  wanting.  Make 
men — even  the  poorest — thoughtful,  enlightened,  and 
upright,  and  they  will  find  or  make  means  to  protect 
themselves ;  while  they  will  extend,  at  the  same  time, 
a  like  protection  to  the  rights  and  interests  of  others. 

III.  But  again,  the  honor  of  the  CJiristian  name 
requires  that  we  should  labor  to  give  our  religion, 
with  all  its  living  power,  to  seamen.     They  are  our 


CLAIMS    OF   SEAMEN.  265 

representatives,  and  the  representatives  of  our  reli- 
gion in  foreign  lands,  and  among  the  heathen.  None 
except  Christian  nations  engage  in  foreign  trade, 
and  hardly  any  except  nations  professing  the  Re- 
formed faith,  enjoy  at  present  much  commercial  pre- 
eminence ;  so  that  the  sailors  of  the  world,  wherever 
they  appear,  appear  for  the  most  part  as  exemplars 
of  the  religion  called  Christian  and  Protestant.  And 
what  sort  of  exemplars  are  they  ?  Is  it  strange  that 
the  name  of  our  God  is  blasphemed  and  ridiculed 
even  among  barbarians  and  cannibals,  when  the  only 
persons  whom  they  see  bearing  the  Christian  name 
are  crews  such  as  man  too  many  of  our  whalers  and 
merchantmen  ?  The  Islands  of  the  Pacific,  for  ex- 
ample, where  it  is  said  five  hundred  American  whaling 
ships  are  constantly  cruising,  and  where  millions  of 
untutored  barbarians  see  scarcely  aught  of  nominal 
Christianity  except  through  them — what  impressions 
must  they  get  of  the  faith  we  profess,  when  a  ship 
from  Christian  America  nears  their  shores,  and  dis- 
gorges its  inmates  to  do  deeds  of  debauchery,  ra- 
pine, and  violence,  at  which  heathenism  itself  stands 
aghast  ? 

It  is  a  fact,  that  not  many  years  since,  a  Rajah 
chief  of  the  Malaccas  called  together  his  brother 
chiefs  and  leading  people,  to  deliberate  by  what 
means  they  could  reform  the  sailors  and  whalemen 
that  swarmed  along  their  shores  —  reformation  or 
banishment  having  become  inevitable.  What  a  spec- 
tacle !  when  Malays,  who  have  had  a  world-wide  no- 
toriety as  pirates  and  perfidious  barbarians,  come  to 
meditate  a  mission  of  mercy — a  scheme  of  moral  re- 

23 


2G6  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

formation — for  the  benefit  of  those  who  call  themselves 
Christians  !  Take  another  instance  : — A  sailor  is 
driven  on  shore  by  the  cruelty  of  his  treatment. 
After  wandering  about  in  destitution,  he  sickens  and 
dies.  Some  of  his  own  crew  thrust  him  into  a  hole 
in  the  sand,  in  the  presence  of  Mohammedans  and 
Pagans  !  Can  we  wonder  that  they  pour  out  scorn 
and  execration  on  the  actors  in  such  a  tragedy  ? 
These,  said  they,  are  your  Christians.  They  first 
by  oppression  drive  men  mad — they  then  leave  them 
to  die  in  loneliness  and  want,  and  when  dead,  they 
can  refuse  even  to  their  poor  remains  the  rites  of 
sepulture,  the  tribute  of  a  decent  grave  !  Is  it  said 
that  such  men  misrepresent  Christianity  ?  But  why 
should  Christianity  be  misrepresented  ?  Why  not 
make  sailors  worthy  exponents  of  the  religion  we 
glory  in  ?  Why,  when  these  men  land  on  heathen 
shores,  should  they  not  be  as  conspicuous  for  their 
worth,  as  they  now,  too  often,  are  for  their  debase- 
ment ?  The  day  was,  when  pagans,  looking  on  the 
followers  of  Jesus,  were  compelled  to  exclaim.  Behold 
how  these  Christians  love  one  another  !  And  is  it 
not  an  object  worthy  of  the  best  eiforts  and  prayers 
of  all  who  love  Christ  and  his  Gospel,  to  bring  on  a 
day,  when,  as  the  crews  of  Christian  ships  land  on 
the  shores  of  idolaters  and  infidels,  they  shall  so 
bear  themselves  as  to  wring  from  the  most  reluctant 
the  admission :  Behold  how  these  men  work  right- 
eousness;  their  Lord  he  is  the  Grod;  we  will  go  with 
them;  their  God  shall  he  our  God  foj^ever  and  ever? 
Another  reason  here  occurs  to  me,  why  the  honor 
of  Christianity,  and  of  our  own  land,  is  involved  in 
the  improvement  of  seamen ;  and  that  is,  that  most  of 


CLAIMS    OP   SEAMEN.  267 

our  difficulties  with  heathen  nations,  together  with 
the  reproach  and  expense  they  occasion,  may  be 
traced  directly  or  indirectly  to  the  misconduct  of  sea- 
men. But  for  the  provocations  which  they  give,  there 
would  be  but  little  danger  to  our  merchantmen  as 
they  navigate  the  most  distant  seas,  and  trade  along 
the  most  inhospitable  coasts.  It  is  when  they  go,  as 
they  sometimes  do,  (would  I  could  say  but^  rarely), 
with  false  weights  and  false  coin,  to  cheat  the  unsus- 
pecting natives — when  they  debauch  their  wives  and 
daughters — when  they  assault,  and  think  it  sport  to 
shoot  them  down ;  then  it  is  that  vindictive  passions 
are  roused,  and  the  aggressor  escaping,  vengeance  is 
wreaked  upon  the  first  vessel,  however  inoifensive, 
that  bears  the  American  flag,  or  is  associated  with 
the  Christian  name.  That  act  of  retribution,  how- 
ever, must  needs  be  requited.  It  calls,  it  is  supposed, 
for  the  bloodiest  and  most  memorable  expiation.  The 
majesty  of  the  American  government  must  be  invoked. 
The  prowess  of  the  American  navy  must  be  put  in 
requisition,  and  frigates  appear  to  batter  down  their 
towns,  and  lay  waste  their  villages  and  fields.  Now 
with  us,  all  this  is  placed  to  the  account  of  the  san- 
guinary spirit  of  the  heathen.  But  let  us  remember 
how  it  is  among  them.  With  what  indignation,  and 
with  what  justice  too,  may  they  not  say,  "  Behold !  thou 
art  called  a  ^  Christian,'  and  makest  thy  boast  of  God, 
and  knowest  his  will,  and  art  confident  that  thou  thy- 
self art  a  guide  of  the  blind,  a  light  of  them  which 
are  in  darkness.  Thou,  therefore,  which  teachest  an- 
other, teachest  thou  not  thyself?  Thou  that  preach- 
est  a  man  should  not  steal,  dost  thou  steal  ?  Thgu 
that  sayest  a  man  should  not  commit  adultery,  dost 


268  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

thou  commit  adultery  ?  Thou  that  abhorrest  murder, 
dost  thou  commit  murder  ?  The  name  of  God  is 
blasphemed  among  us  Gentiles  through  you." 

IV.  In  the  last  place,  need  I  say  that  as  Christians, 
taught  to  prize  the  souls  of  men  as  above  all  price,  we 
are  solemnly  bound  to  labor  for  the  salvation  of  sea- 
men^ and  through  them,  for  the  salvation  of  those  to 
whom  they  go.  Sailors  can  at  best  enjoy  but  a  small 
share  of  the  living  ministrations  of  the  Gospel.  Five- 
sixths  of  their  time  is  spent  upon  the  ocean.  But  they 
have  hearts.  They  are  rarely  skeptical.  They  see 
too  much  of  the  wonders  of  the  Lord  in  the  deep,  and 
know  by  sad  experience,  too  much  of  the  uncertainty 
and  vanity  of  life,  to  take  refuge  in  the  cheerless  creed 
of  the  unbeliever.  They  feel  as  all  friendless  men  feel, 
an  inexpressible  yearning  for  sympathy ;  and  their 
hearts  open,  like  those  of  children,  to  the  appeals  of 
any  who  show  that  they  are  friends  indeed.  That 
now,  sailors  professing  and  exemplifying  piety  can 
be  counted  by  thousands,  where,  twenty  years  ago, 
piety  was  all  but  unknown — that  those  in  the  navy 
occupying  the  most  distinguished  and  responsible 
posts  are  not  ashamed  to  confess  Christ  and  him 
crucified  before  men  ; — these  results,  when  we  think 
of  the  means  employed,  prove  how  much  greater 
would  be  the  results,  were  we  to  rise  and  quit  our- 
selves like  men.  Be  it  remembered  too,  that  when  a 
sailor,  be  he  officer  or  be  he  man,  comes  out  as  a  fol- 
lower of  Christ,  he  is  frank  and  decided.  His  influ- 
ence is  at  once  apparent,  and  it  is  in  the  same  pro- 
P9rtion  effective.  A  single  whaling  ship,  commanded 
by  a  pious  captain,  and  manned  by  an  examplary 


CLAIMS    OF   SEAMEN.  269 

crew,  has  been  known,  in  the  Pacific,  to  shed  a  hal- 
lowing and  restraining  influence  on  all  surrounding 
vessels.  Others,  whatever  might  be  their  propen- 
sities, and  to  whatever  excesses  they  might  otherwise 
rush,  felt  the  silent  but  powerful  rebuke  that  there  is 
in  Christian  principle,  acted  fairly  and  frankly  out. 
And  hence  it  is,  that  among  seamen,  sooner  than 
elsewhere,  the  leaven  of  a  holy  influence  spreads  it- 
self abroad. 

And  then  on  heathen  soil,  what  aid  and  comfort 
would  not  Christian  sailors  give  to  our  few  and  faint- 
ing missionaries.  There  are,  in  all  the  Pagan  world, 
some  twelve  hundred  Protestant  missionaries,  pro- 
claiming the  doctrines  of  the  cross,  while  sailors  bear- 
ing the  Christian  name,  who  go  among  these  Pagans, 
must  be  at  least  a  hundred  times  that  number  ; — so 
that  one  hundred  sailors  are  seen  by  the  heathen, 
where  they  see  but  a  single  Christian  missionary. 
Now  it  is  often  the  delight  of  the  one  to  oppose  and 
calumniate  the  other.  Not  many  years  since,  at  the 
instance  of  American  seamen,  the  chiefs  of  the  Mar- 
quesas Islands  in  the  Pacific,  drove  away  the  mission- 
aries who  had  labored  faithfully  among  them.  Under 
their  influence,  barriers  were  rising  to  the  indulgence 
of  licentious  passion,  and  the  native  chiefs  were  per- 
suaded to  sacrifice  their  best  friends,  that  their  own 
homes  and  the  homes  of  their  people  might  become 
stews  for  American  and  English  sailors.  So,  well-nigh, 
was  it  in  the  Sandwich  Islands ;  and  there  is  hardly  a 
missionary  post  where  the  toiling  evangelist  does  not 
find  himself  obstructed  by  those  professing  his  own 
faith,  and  coming  perhaps  from  his  own  land.  Oh  ! 
that  this  suicidal  policy  might  cease — this  policy  of 
23* 


270  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

sending  one  man  to  enlighten  and  purify,  while  we 
send  a  hundred  to  pervert  and  contaminate.  Would 
that  Christians  would  rouse  to  the  magnitude  and 
urgency  of  the  evil,  and  that  they  would  resolve  in 
the  strength  of  God  that  this  evil  shall  be  abated. 
Remember  the  heathen.  Brethren,  dying  in  the  de- 
basement and  abominations  which  have  been  con- 
firmed, if  not  induced  by  our  own  seamen.  Remem- 
ber the  seaman  himself.  We  give  him  but  little  else ; 
let  us  not  withhold  the  Gospel.  A  few  years  more, 
and  he  will  fall  a  prey  to  the  fury  of  some  remorse- 
less storm.  Few  seamen — very  few  die  in  their  beds 
on  shore.  Suddenly,  in  most  cases,  when  aloft  on  his 
perilous  duty ;  when  battling  in  vain  with  the  over- 
powering elements ;  when  the  ship  parts,  and  he  casts 
himself  among  the  breakers — then  does  he  give  back 
his  soul  to  God.  Let  it  go  washed  and  made  white 
in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Let  not  the  deep  waters 
that  engulph  his  body,  be  the  image  of  deeper  and 
darker  waters  that  overwhelm  his  soul.  Let  there  be 
a  Dove  hovering  over  him  from  brighter  worlds  ;  hold- 
ing up  to  view  her  olive  branch,  and  betokening  the 
happy  hour  when  the  Son  of  Man  shall  say,  "  Come, 
ye  blessed  of  my  Father." 


DRINKING  USAGES. 


AN  ADDRESS* 


We  have  assembled,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  to  con- 
tribute our  aid  in  arresting  a  great  and  crying  evil. 
We  do  not  aim  to  promote  directly  that  temperance 
which  forms  one  of  the  noblest  and  most  comprehen- 
sive of  the  Christian  virtues.  Our  simple  object  is  to 
prevent  drunkenness,  with  its  legion  of  ills,  by  drying 
up  the  principal  sources  from  which  it  flows.  To  one 
of  these  sources,  and  that  the  most  active  and  power- 
ful, I  propose  to  ask  your  attention  this  evening.  The 
occasion,  I  need  not  say,  is  a  most  worthy  one  ;  one  that 
merits  the  warmest  sympathy  and  support  of  every 
patriot  and  philanthropist,  of  every  follower  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

For  what  is  Intemperance,  and  what  the  extent  and 
magnitude  of  its  evils  ?  Of  these  we  all  know  some- 
thing. We  all  know  how  it  diseases  the  body  ;  how 
it  disturbs  the  equilibrium  of  the  intellect ;  how  it 
poisons  the  springs  of  generous  aifection  in  the  heart, 
and  lays  a  ruthless  hand  upon  the  whole  moral  and 
spiritual  nature.     What  drunkenness  does  to  its  poor 

'^  The  substance  of  an  address,  delivered  by  request  in  the 
Masonic  Hall,  Pittsburg,  April,  1852. 


274  DISCOURSES   AND    CHARGES. 

victim,  and  to  those  who  are  bound  to  him  by  the 
closest  ties,  you  all  know.  All  know,  did  I  say  ?  Let 
us  thank  God  that  few  of  you  can  know,  or  are  likely 
to  know,  the  inexpressible  horrors  which  fill  the  soul 
of  the  inebriate,  or  the  gloom  and  anguish  of  heart 
which  are  the  portion  of  his  family.  You  know 
enough,  however,  to  feel,  that  where  this  sin  enters, 
there  a  blight  falls  on  happiness,  virtue,  and  even 
hope.  Look  at  the  palpable  shame  and  misery  and 
guilt  which  collect  within  and  about  one  drunkard's 
home  ;  and  then  multiply  their  dreadful  sum  by  the 
whole  number  of  such  homes,  which,  at  this  moment, 
can  be  found  in  this  Christian  city ;  and  you  will  have 
an  accumulation  of  sin  and  sorrow,  even  at  your  doors, 
which  no  mortal  arithmetic  can  gauge,  but  which  is 
sufficient  to  appal  the  stoutest  heart,  and  move  to 
sympathy  the  coldest  charity. 

But  whence  does  this  vast  and  hideous  evil  come  ? 
To  you,  as  a  jury  of  inquest,  standing  over  the 
victims  it  strikes  down,  I  appeal  for  a  verdict  accord- 
ing to  truth  and  evidence.  Can  it  be  said,  that  they 
who  are  now  cold  in  death,  with  a  drunkard's  shame 
branded  on  their  memory,  "  died  by  visitation  of 
God  ?"  God  sends  no  such  curse  even  upon  the 
guiltiest  of  his  creatures.  He  may  send  pestilence 
and  earthquake  ;  he  may  send  blasting  and  mildew ; 
but  he  commissions  no  moral  plague,  like  drunkenness, 
to  carry  desolation  to  the  souls  as  well  as  bodies  of 
men.    This  evil,  alas  !  is  self-invoked  and  self-inflicted. 

And  how  ?  Do  men  rush  deliberately,  and  with 
full  purpose  of  heart,  into  such  an  abyss  ?  Is  there 
any  one  so  lost  to  self-respect,  to  all  prudence  and 
duty,  so  devoid  of  every  finer  instinct  and  sentiment 


DRINKING    USAGES.  275 

of  our  nature,  that  he  can  willingly  sink  down  to  the 
ignominy  and  the  woe  that  are  the  drunkard's  portion? 
I  tell  you  nay.  Every  human  being  recoils,  with  in- 
voluntary horror  and  disgust,  from  the  contemplation 
of  such  a  fate.  He  shrinks  from  it,  as  he  would  from 
the  foul  embraces  of  a  serpent,  and  feels  that  he  would 
sooner  sacrifice  everything  than  take  his  place  beside 
the  bloated  and  degraded  beings  who  seem  dead  to 
all  that  is  noble  in  our  nature  or  hopeful  in  our  lot. 
These  are  the  victims  that  have  gone  blindfold  to  their 
fate.  Gentle  is  the  declivity,  smooth  and  noiseless 
the  descent,  which  conducts  them,  step  by  step,  along 
the  treacherous  way,  till  suddenly  their  feet  slide,  and 
they  find  themselves  plunging  over  the  awful  precipice. 

And  what  is  that  deceitful  road  ?  Or  which  is  the 
perfidious  guide  who  stands  ever  ready  to  turn  aside 
the  feet  of  the  unwary  traveller  ?  Here,  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  is  the  great  question.  To  arrest  an  evil 
eff'ectually,  we  must  know  its  nature  and  cause.  It  is 
idle  to  lop  off  branches,  while  the  trunk  stands  firm 
and  full  of  life.  It  is  idle  to  destroy  noxious  leaves 
or  flowers,  while  the  plant  still  pours  forth  its  malig- 
nant humors  at  the  root.  If  we  would  go  to  the 
bottom  of  this  evil,  if  we  would  lay  the  axe  to  the 
very  root  of  the  baleful  tree,  we  must  see  how  and 
whence  it  is  that  unsuspecting  multitudes  are  thus  en- 
snared, never  scenting  danger  till  they  begin  to  taste 
of  death. 

It  will  be  admitted,  I  presume,  by  all  who  hear 
me,  that,  if  there  were  no  temperate  drinking,  there 
would  be  none  that  is  intemperate.  Men  do  not  begin 
by  what  is  usually  called  immoderate  indulgence,  but 
by  that  which  they  regard  as  moderate.     Gradually 


276  DISCOURSES   AND    CHARGES. 

and  insensibly  their  draughts  are  increased  until  the 
functions  of  life  are  permanently  disturbed,  the  system 
becomes  inflamed,  and  there  is  that  morbid  appetite 
which  will  hardly,  brook  restraint,  and  the  indulgence 
of  which  is  sottish  intemperance.  Let  it  be  remem- 
bered, then,  that  what  is  usually  styled  temperate 
drinking  stands  as  the  condition  precedent  of  that 
which  is  intemjjerate.  Discontinue  one,  and  the  other 
becomes  impossible. 

But  what  is  the  cause  of  moderate  or  temperate 
drinking  ?  Is  it  the  force  of  natural  appetite  ? 
Rarely.  Nine-tenths,  if  not  ninety-nine-hundredths, 
of  those  who  use  alcoholic  stimulants  do  it,  in  the 
first  instance,  and  often  for  a  long  time,  not  from 
appetite,  but  from  deference  to  custom  or  fashion. 
Usage  has  associated  intoxicating  drinks  with  good 
fellowship, — with  offices  of  hospitality  and  friendship. 
However  false  and  dangerous  such  an  association  may 
be,  it  is  not  surprising  that,  when  once  established, 
it  continually  gathered  strength  ;  with  some,  through 
appetite  ;  with  others,  through  interest.  It  is  in  this 
way  that  what  we  term  Drinking  Usages  have  become 
incorporated  with  every  pursuit  in  life,  with  the  tastes 
and  habits  of  every  grade  and  class  of  society.  In 
the  drawing-room  and  dining-room  of  the  affluent,  in 
the  public  room  of  the  hotel,  in  every  place  of  re- 
freshment, in  the  social  gatherings  of  the  poor,  in 
the  harvest-field  and  the  workshop,  alcoholic  liquor 
was  at  one  time  deemed  essential.  Too  often  it  is 
deemed  so  still.  Many  a  host  and  employer,  many 
a  young  companion,  shrinks  even  now  from  the  idea 
of  exchanging  the  kind  offices  of  life  without  the  aid 
of  intoxicating  liquors,  as  he  would  shrink  from  some 


DRINKING   USAGES.  27T 

sore  ojffence  against  taste  and  propriety.  Not  to  put 
the  cup  to  your  neighbor's  lip,  in  one  word,  is  to  sin 
against  that  most  absolute  of  earthly  sovereigns, 
Fashion. 

Here,  then,  lies  the  gist  of  the  whole  difficulty. 
Fashion  propagates  itself  downward.  Established 
and  upheld  by  the  more  refined  and  opulent,  it  is 
soon  caught  up  by  those  in  less  conspicuous  walks. 
It  thus  spreads  itself  over  the  whole  face  of  society, 
and,  becoming  allied  with  other  principles,  is  planted 
deep  in  the  habits  and  associations  of  a  people.  It  is 
pre-eminently  so  with  drinking  usages.  Immemorial 
custom  ;  the  example  of  those  whose  education  or 
position  gives  them  a  commanding  sway  over  the 
opinions  and  practices  of  others  ;  appetite,  with  them 
who  have  drunk  till  what  was  once  but  compliance 
with  usage,  is  now  an  imperious  craving ;  the  interest 
of  many,  who  thrive  by  the  traffic  in  intoxicating 
drinks,  or  by  the  follies  into  which  they  betray  men, 
— here  are  causes  which  so  fortify  and  strengthen 
these  usages,  that  they  seem  to  defy  all  change.  But 
let  us  not  despair.  We  address  those  who  are  willing 
to  think,  and  who  are  accustomed  to  bring  every 
question  to  the  stern  test  of  utility  and  duty.  To 
these,  then,  we  appeal. 

Drinking  usages  are  the  chief  cause  of  intemper- 
ance ;  and  these  usages  derive  their  force  and  autho- 
rity, in  the  first  instance,  wholly  from  those  who  give 
law  to  fashion.  Let  this  be  considered.  Do  you  ask 
for  the  treacherous  guide,  who,  with  winning  smiles 
and  honied  accents,  leads  men  forward  from  one 
degree  of  indulgence  to  another,  till  they  are  besotted 
and  lost  ?     Seek  him  not  in  the  purlieus  of  the  low 

24 


278  DISCOURSES   AND    CHARGES. 

grog-shop  ;  seek  him  not  in  any  scenes  of  coarse  and 
vulgar  revelry.  He  is  to  be  found  where  they  meet 
who  are  the  observed  of  all  observers.  There,  in  the 
abodes  of  the  rich  and  admired ;  there,  amidst  all  the 
enchantments  of  luxury  and  elegance ;  where  friend 
pledges  friend ;  where  wine  is  invoked  to  lend  new 
animation  to  gaiety,  and  impart  new  brilliancy  to 
wit ;  in  the  sparkling  glass,  which  is  raised  even  by 
the  hand  of  beautiful  and  lovely  women, — there  is  the 
most  dangerous  decoy.  Can  that  be  unsafe  which  is 
thus  associated  with  all  that  is  fair  and  graceful  in 
woman,  with  all  that  is  attractive  and  brilliant  in 
man  ?  Must  not  that  be  proper,  and  even  obligatory, 
which  has  the  deliberate  and  time-honored  sanction  of 
those  who  stand  before  the  world  as  the  "  glass  of 
fashion,"  and  "rose  of  the  fair  state?" 

Thus  reason  the  great  proportion  of  men.  They 
are  looking  continually  to  those  who,  in  their  esti- 
mation, are  more  favored  of  fortune  or  more  accom- 
plished in  mind  and  manners.  We  do  not  regulate 
our  watches  more  carefully  or  more  universally  by 
the  town-clock,  than  do  nine-tenths  of  mankind  take 
their  tone  from  the  residue,  who  occupy  places  towards 
which  all  are  struggling. 

Let  the  responsibility  of  these  drinking  usages  be 
put,  then,  where  it  justly  belongs.  When  you  visit 
on  some  errand  of  mercy  the  abodes  of  the  poor  and 
afflicted  ;  when  you  look  in  on  some  home  which  has 
been  made  dark  by  drunkenness, — where  hearts  are 
desolate,  and  hearths  are  cold  ;  where  want  is  break- 
ins:  in  as  an  armed  man  ;  where  the  wife  is  heart- 
broken  or  debased,  and  children  are  fast  demoraliz- 
ing ;  where  little  can  be  heard  but  ribaldry,  bias- 


DRINKING   USAGES.  279 

phemy,  and  obscenity, — friends  !  would  you  connect 
effect  with  cause,  and  trace  this  hideous  monster  back 
to  its  true  parent,  let  your  thoughts  fly  away  to  some 
abode  of  wealth  and  refinement,  where  conviviality 
reigns  ;  where,  amidst  joyous  greetings,  and  friendly 
protestations,  and  merry  shouts,  the  flowing  bowl  goes 
round ;  and  there  you  will  see  that  which  is  sure  to 
make  drinking  everywhere  attractive,  and  which,  in 
doing  so,  never  fails,  and  cannot  fail,  to  make  drunken- 
ness common. 

Would  we  settle  our  account,  then,  with  the  drinh- 
ing  usages  of  the  refined  and  respectable  ?  We  must 
hold  them  answerable  for  maintaining  corresponding 
usages  in  other  classes  of  society  ;  and  we  must  hold 
them  answerable,  further,  for  the  frightful  amount  of 
intemperance  which  results  from  those  usages.  We 
must  hold  them  accountable  for  all  the  sin,  and  all 
the  unhappiness,  and  all  the  pinching  poverty,  and 
all  the  nefarious  crimes,  to  which  intemperance  gives 
rise.  So  long  as  these  usages  maintain  their  place 
among  the  respectable,  so  long  will  drinking  and 
drunkenness  abound  through  all  grades  and  condi- 
tions of  life.  Neither  the  power  of  law  aimed  at  the 
traffic  in  liquors,  nor  the  force  of  argument  addressed 
to  the  understandings  and  consciences  of  the  many, 
will  ever  prevail  to  cast  out  the  fiend  Drunkenness,  so 
long  as  they  who  are  esteemed  the  favored  few  uphold 
with  unyielding  hand  the  practice  of  drinking. 

Hence,  the  question,  whether  this  monster  evil 
shall  be  abated,  resolves  itself  always  into  another 
question ;  and  that  is,  Will  the  educated,  the  wealthy, 
the  respectable,  persist  in  sustaining  the  usages  which 
produce  it  ?     Let  them  resolve  that  these  usages  shall 


280  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

no  longer  have  their  countenance,  and  their  insidions 
power  is  broken.  Let  them  resolve,  that,  wherever 
they  go,  the  empty  wine-glass  shall  proclaim  their 
silent  protest ;  and  fashion,  which  now  commands  us 
to  drink,  shall  soon  command  us  with  all-potential 
voice  to  abstain. 

Now,  what  is  there  in  these  usages  to  entitle  them 
to  the  patronage  of  the  wise  and  good  ?  Are  they 
necessary  ?     Are  they  safe  or  useful  ? 

Unless  they  can  show  some  offset  to  the  vast 
amount  of  evil  which  they  occasion,  they  ought  surely 
to  be  ruled  out  of  court.  But  is  any  one  prepared  to 
maintain  that  these  drinking  usages  are  necessary? 
That  it  is  necessary  or  even  useful,  that  men  should 
use  intoxicating  liquors  as  beverage  ?  Do  they  add 
vigor  to  muscle,  or  strength  to  intellect,  or  warmth 
to  the  heart,  or  rectitude  to  the  conscience  ?  The 
experience  of  thousands  and  even  millions,  has  an- 
swered this  question.  In  almost  every  age  and  quar- 
ter of  the  world,  but  especially  within  the  last  twenty- 
five  years,  and  in  our  own  land,  many  have  made 
trial  of  entire  abstinence  from  all  that  can  intoxicate. 
How  few  of  them  will  confess  that  they  have  suffered 
from  it,  either  in  health  of  body,  or  elasticity  of 
spirits,  or  energy  and  activity  of  mind  !  How  many 
will  testify  that  in  each  of  these  respects  they  were 
sensible  gainers  from  the  time  they  renounced  the 
use  of  all  alcoholic  stimulants  ! 

But,  if  neither  useful  nor  necessary,  can  it  be  con- 
tended that  these  drinking  customs  are  harmless? 
Are  they  not  expensive  ?  Many  a  moderate  drinker, 
did  he  reckon  up  accurately  the  cost  of  this  indul- 
gence, would  discover  that  it  forms  one  of  his  heaviest 


DRINKING   USAGES.  281 

burdens.  No  taxes,  says  Franklin,  are  so  oppressive* 
as  those  which  men  levy  on  themselves.  Appetite 
and  fashion,  vanity  and  ostentation,  constitute  our 
most  rapacious  tax-gatherers.  It  is  computed  by 
Mr.  Porter,  an  English  statistician  of  distinguished 
ability,  but  of  no  special  interest  in  the  subject 
which  we  are  now  discussing,  that  the  laboring 
'people  of  Great  Britain,  exclusive  of  the  middle  and 
higher  classes,  expend  no  less  than  X53, 000,000 
($250,000,000)  every  year  on  alcoholic  liquors  and 
tobacco !  There  is  little  doubt  that  the  amount,  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  consumed  in  Pennsylvaniaf  an- 
nually for  the  same  indulgence,  equals  $10,000,000, 
a  sum  which,  could  it  be  saved  for  four  successive 

*  "  Mj  companion  at  the  press,"  says  Franklin,  speaking  of 
his  life  as  a  journeyman  printer  in  London,  "  drank  every  day  a 
pint  before  breakfast,  a  pint  at  breakfast,  with  his  bread  and 
cheese,  a  pint  between  breakfast  and  dinner,  a  pint  at  dinner,  a 
pint  in  the  afternoon  about  six  o'clock,  and  another  when  he  had 
done  his  day's  work.  I  thought  it  a  detestable  custom ;  but  it 
was  necessary,  he  supposed,  to  drink  strong  beer,  that  he  might 
be  strong  to  labor.  I  endeavored  to  convince  him  that  the  bodily 
strength  afforded  by  beer  could  only  be  in  proportion  to  the  grain 
or  flour  of  the  barley  dissolved  in  the  water  of  which  it  was 
made  ;  that  there  was  more  flour  in  a  pennyworth  of  bread  j  and 
therefore,  if  he  could  eat  that  with  a  pint  of  water,  it  would  give 
him  more  strength  than  a  quart  of  beer.  He  drank  on.  However, 
and  had  four  or  five  shillings  to  pay  out  of  his  wages  every 
Saturday  night  for  that  vile  liquor, — an  expense  which  I  was  free 
from  ;  and  thus  these  poor  devils  keep  themselves  always  under  P 
See  Dr.  Franklin's  Life,  written  by  himself. 

t  In  Western  Pennsylvania,  one  of  the  most  valuable  products 
is  bituminous  coal.  Great  quantities  are  sent  down  the  Ohio, 
and  are  paid  for  in  whiskey.  I  was  informed  by  a  distinguished 
citizen  of  that  part  of  the  State,  that  every  year  shows  a  balance 
against  the  producers  of  coal,  and  in  favor  of  the  distillers  I 

24^ 


282  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES.  / 

years,  would  pay  the  debt  which  now  hangs  like  an 
incubus  on  the  energies  of  the  Commonwealth.  In 
wasting  $250,000,000  every  year,  the  laboring  popu- 
lation of  Britain  put  it  beyond  the  power  of  any  go- 
vernment to  avert  from  multitudes  of  them  the 
miseries  of  want.  Were  but  a  tithe  of  that  sum 
wrenched  from  the  hands  of  toil-worn  labor,  and 
buried  in  the  Thames  or  the  ocean,  we  should  all  re- 
gard it  as  an  act  of  stupendous  folly  and  guilt.  Yet 
it  were  infinitely  better  that  such  a  sum  should  be 
cast  into  the  depths  of  the  sea,  than  that  it  should  be 
expended  in  a  way  which  must  debauch  the  morals, 
and  destroy  the  health,  and  lay  waste  the  personal 
and  domestic  happiness  of  thousands.  If  the  ques- 
tion be  narrowed  down  to  one  of  mere  material  ivealth, 
no  policy  can  be  more  suicidal  than  that  which  up- 
holds usages,  the  inevitable  effect  of  which  is  to  para- 
lyze the  2^'^oductive  powers  of  the  people,  and  to  de- 
range the  proper  and  natural  distribution  of  property. 
Remember,  then,  he  who  sustains  these  usages,  sus- 
tains the  most  prolific  source  of  improvidence  and 
want.  He  makes,  at  the  same  time,  an  inroad  upon 
his  own  personal  income,  which  is  but  a  loan  from 
God,  intrusted  to  him  for  his  own  and  others'  good. 

But  these  drinking  usages  are  not  only  expensive, 
they  are  unreasonable.  What  is  their  practical  ef- 
fect ?  It  is  that  others  shall  decide  for  us  a  question, 
which  ought  most  clearly  to  be  referred  only  to  our 
own  taste  and  sense  of  duty.  We  are  to  drink,  whe- 
ther it  be  agreeable  to  us  or  not,  whether  we  think  it 
right  or  not,  whether  we  think  it  safe  or  not.  More- 
over, and  this  is  suflficiently  humiliating,  we  are  to 
drink  precisely  when,  and   precisely  where   others 


DRINKING    USAGES.  283 

prescribe.  It  has  been  said,  that  in  some  parts  of 
our  country,  one  must  either  drink  with  a  man  who 
invites  him  or  fight.  It  is  not  long  since,  in  every 
part  of  it,  one  must  either  drink  when  invited,  or 
incur  the  frowns  and  jeers  of  those  who  claimed  to  be 
arbiters  of  propriety.  And,  even  now,  he  or  she  who 
will  not  drink  at  all,  or  will  drink  only  when  their 
own  reason  and  inclination  bid,  must  not  be  surprised 
if  they  provoke  invective  or  ridicule.  And  is  a 
bondage  like  this  to  be  upheld  ?  Does  it  become  free- 
born  Americans,  who  boast  so  much  of  liberty,  to 
bow  down  their  necks  to  a  servitude  so  unrelenting, 
and  yet  so  absurd  ? 

A  German  nobleman  once  paid  a  visit  to  Great 
Britain,  when  the  practice  of  toasting  and  drinking 
healths  was  at  its  height.  Wherever  he  went,  during 
a  six  months'  tour,  he  found  himself  obliged  to  drink, 
though  never  so  loath.  He  must  pledge  his  host  and 
his  hostess.  He  must  drink  with  every  one  who  would 
be  civil  to  him,  and  with  every  one,  too,  who  wished 
a  convenient  pretext  for  taking  another  glass.  He 
must  drink  a  bumper  in  honor  of  the  king  and  queen, 
in  honor  of  church  and  state,  in  honor  of  the  army 
and  navy.  How  often  did  he  find  himself  retiring, 
with  throbbing  temples  and  burning  cheek,  from  these 
scenes  of  intrusive  hospitality  !  At  length  his  visit 
drew  to  a  close,  and  to  requite,  in  some  measure,  the 
attentions  which  had  been  lavished  upon  him,  he 
ma<le  a  grand  entertainment.  Assembling  those  who 
had  done  him  honor,  he  gathered  them  round  a  most 
sumptuous  banquet,  and  feasted  them  to  their  utmost 
content.  The  tables  were  then  cleared.  Servants 
entered  with  two  enormous  hams ;  one  was  placed  at 


284  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

each  end,  slices  were  cut  and  passed  round  to  each 
guest,  when  the  host  rose,  and  with  all  gravity  said, 
"  Gentlemen,  I  give  you  the  king !  please  eat  to  his 
honor."  His  guests  protested.  They  had  dined, — 
they  were  Jews — they  were  already  surcharged 
through  his  too  generous  cheer.  But  he  was  inflexi- 
ble. "  Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "for  six  months  you 
have  compelled  me  to  drink  at  your  bidding.  Is  it 
too  much  that  you  should  now  eat  at  mine  ?  I  have 
been  submissive :  why  should  you  not  follow  my  ex- 
ample ?  You  will  please  do  honor  to  your  king ! 
You  shall  then  be  served  with  another  slice  in  honor 
of  the  queen,  another  to  the  prosperity  of  the  royal 
family,  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  chapter !" 

But,  waiving  the  absurdity  and  costliness  of  these 
usages,  let  me  ask  if  they  are  safe.  No  one  who 
drinks  can  be  perfectly  certain  that  he  may  not  die 
a  drunkard.  Numbers  which  defy  all  computation 
have  gone  this  road,  who  were  once  as  self-confident 
as  any  of  us  can  be.  No  one,  again,  who  drinks  can 
be  certain  that  he  may  not,  in  some  unguarded  hour, 
fall  into  a  debauch,  in  which  he  shall  commit  some 
error  or  perpetrate  some  crime,  that  will  follow  him 
with  shame  and  sorrow,  all  his  days.  How  many  a 
young  man,  by  one  such  indiscretion,  has  cast  a  cloud 
over  all  his  prospects  for  life  !  You  have  read  Shak- 
speare's  "  Othello,"  the  most  finished  and  perfect, 
perhaps,  of  all  his  tragedies.  What  is  it  but  a  solemn 
Temperance  Lecture  ?  Whence  come  all  the  horrors 
that  cluster  round  the  closing  scenes  of  that  awful 
and  magnificent  drama  ?  Is  it  not  from  the  wine 
with  which  lago  plied  Cassio  ?  What  is  lago  himself 
but  a  human  embodiment  of  the  Great  Master  of  Evil  ? 


DRINKING   USAGES.  285 

And,  as  that  Master  goes  abroad  over  the  earth  seek- 
ing whom  he  may  destroy,  where  does  he  find  a  more 
potent  instrument  than  the  treacherous  wine-cup  ? 
This  dark  tragedy,  with  its  crimes  and  sorrows,  is 
but  an  epitome,  a  faint  transcript,  of  ten  thousand 
tragedies  which  are  all  the  time  enacting  on  this 
theatre  of  our  daily  life.  How  many  are  there  at 
this  moment,  who,  from  the  depths  of  agonized  and 
remorseful  hearts,  can  echo  the  words  of  Othello's 
sobered,  but  almost  frenzied  lieutenant,  "  0  thou  in- 
visible spirit  of  wine  !  if  thou  hast  no  name  to  be 
known  by,  let  us  call  thee  devil !"  "  That  men  should 
put  an  enemy  in  their  mouths  to  steal  away  their 
brains  !  That  we  should  with  joy,  pleasance,  revel, 
and  applause,  transform  ourselves  into  beasts !" 
''  Oh  !  I  have  lost  my  reputation  !  I  have  lost  the 
immortal  part  of  myself,  and  what  remains  is  bestial, 
— my  reputation,  lago,  my  reputation  !"  "  To  be 
now  a  sensible  man,  by  and  by  a  fool,  and  presently 
a  beast !  0  strange  !  Every  inordinate  cup  is  un- 
blessed, and  the  ingredient  is  a  devil."  In  this  land, 
and  in  our  day,  there  are  few  cups  which,  for  the  young 
and  excitable,  are  not  "  inordinate."  Wines  that  are 
charged  high  with  brandy,  or  brewed  in  the  distillery 
of  some  remorseless  fabricator,  are  never  safe.  Among 
wine-proverbs,  there  are  two  which  are  now  more  than 
ever  significant  of  truth :  "  The  most  voluptuous  of 
assassins  is  the  bottle;"  "Bacchus  has  drowned 
more  than  Neptune." 

It  is  not  the  opinion  of  "temperance  fanatics" 
merely,  that  adjudges  drinking  to  be  hazardous.  It 
is  so  in  their  estimation  who  are  close,  practical  ob- 
servers and  actors  in  life.     Mr.  Jefferson  is  said  to 


286  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

have  expressed  his  conviction, — the  result  of  long  and 
various  experience, — that  no  man  should  be  intrusted 
with  office  who  drank.  I  have  now  before  me  evidence 
still  more  definite,  in  the  twofold  system  of  rates  pro- 
posed to  be  applied  in  one  of  our  largest  cities  by  the 
same  Life  Insurance  Company.  The  one  set  of  rates 
is  adapted  to  those  who  use  intoxicating  liquors  ;  the 
other,  to  those  who  do  not  use  them  at  all.  Suppose 
that  you  wish  your  life  to  be  assured  to  the  Extent  of 
$1000,  and  that  you  are  twenty  years  of  age.  If 
you  practise  total  abstinence,  the  rate  will  be  $11  60 
per  annum  ;  if  you  use  intoxicating  drinks,  it  will  be 
$14  70.  At  twenty-five  years  of  age,  the  rates  will 
be  as  $13  30  to  $17 ;  at  thirty  years  of  age,  as 
$15  40  to  $19  60.  I  have  also  before  me  the  re- 
turns of  two  Beneficial  Societies,  in  one  of  which  the 
principle  of  total  abstinence  from  all  intoxicating 
liquors  was  observed,  while  in  the  other  it  was  not. 
The  result  has  been,  that,  with  the  same  number  of 
members  in  each,  the  deaths  in  one,  during  a  given 
period,  were  but  seventy-seven ;  whereas,  in  the  other, 
they  were  one  hundred  and  ten!  making  the  chances 
of  life  as  ten  to  seven  in  their  favor  who  practise  total 
abstinence.  This  result  need  not  so  much  astonish  us, 
when  we  are  told,  on  the  authority  of  persons  who 
are  said  to  have  made  careful  and  conscientious  in- 
quiry, that,  of  all  males  who  use  intoxicating  liquors, 
one  in  thirteen  becomes  intemperate. 

Here,  then,  are  results  reached  by  men  of  business, 
when  engaged  in  a  mere  calculation  of  probabilities. 
Drinking,  according  to  their  estimates,  is  hazardous, 
— hazardous  to  life  and  property,  hazardous  to  repu- 
tation and  virtue.     Is  it  not  wise,  then,  to  shun  that 


DRINKING    USAGES.  28T 

hazard  ?  Is  it  not  our  duty  ?  Is  not  this  a  case  in 
which  the  Saviour's  injunction  applies  ? — "  If  thy 
right  eye  offend  thee^  pluck  it  out,  and  cast  it  from 
thee;  if  thy  right  hand  offend  thee,  cut  it  off,  and 
cast  it  from  thee:  for  it  is  better  for  thee  that  one  of 
thy  members  should  perish  than  that  thy  whole  body 
should  be  cast  into  hell-fire.''  We  all  consider  it 
madness  not  to  protect  our  children  and  ourselves 
against  small-pox,  by  vaccination ;  and  this,  though 
the  chances  of  dying  by  the  disease  may  be  but  one 
in  a  thousand,  or  one  in  ten  thousand.  Drunken- 
ness is  a  disease  more  loathsome  and  deadly  even 
than  small-pox.  Its  approaches  are  still  more 
stealthy ;  and  the  specific  against  it — total  abstinence 
— has  never  failed,  and  cannot  fail. 

But  let  us  admit  for  one  moment  and  for  the  sake 
of  argument — (to  admit  it  on  other  ground  would  be 
culpable) — let  us  admit  that  you  can  drink  with 
safety  to  yourself.  Can  you  drink  with  safety  to 
your  neighbor  f  Are  you  charged  with  no  responsi- 
bility in  respect  to  him  ?  You  drink,  as  you  think, 
within  the  limits  of  safety.  He,  in  imitation  of  your 
example,  drinks  also,  but  passes  that  unseen,  un- 
known line,  within  which,  for  him,  safety  lies.  Is 
not  your  indulgence,  then,  a  stumbling-block, — ay, 
perchance,  a  fatal  stumbling-block  in  his  way  ?  Is  it 
not,  in  principle,  the  very  case  contemplated  by  St. 
Paul,  when  he  said,  "  It  is  good  neither  to  eat  flesh, 
NOR  TO  DRINK  WINE,  nor  anything  whereby  thy 
brother  stumbleth,  or  is  offended,  or  is  made  weak 9'' 
Yonder  are  the  young  and  inexperienced,  without 
habits  of  self-control,  and  with  fiery  appetites.  Would 
you  have  them  do  as  you  do  ?     Yonder  is  one  who  is 


288  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

just  on  the  verge  of  the  precipice  that  will  plunge  him 
into  shame  and  woe  unutterable :  are  you  willing  that  he 
should  find  in  your  daily  potations  a  specious  apology 
for  his  own  ?  Or  yonder  is  one  who  is  already  a  bond- 
man to  this  fearful  vice,  but  who  feels  his  debasement, 
and  would  gladly  be  once  more  free  :  will  you  do  that 
in  his  presence  which  will  discourage  him  from  strik- 
ing boldly  for  emancipation  ?  Nay,  it  may  be  that 
he  is  even  now  struggling  bravely  to  be  free.  He 
has  dashed  away  the  cup  of  sorcery,  and  is  practising 
that  which  to  him  is  the  only  alternative  to  ruin.  Is 
it  well,  Christian — follower  of  Him  who  sought  not 
his  own,  and  went  about  doing  good — is  it  well  that 
from  you  should  proceed  an  influence  to  press  him 
back  to  his  cups  ? — that  you^  by  your  example,  should 
proclaim,  that  not  to  drink  is  to  be  over-scrupulous 
and  mean-spirited?  —  that  at  your  table,  in  your 
drawing-room,  he  should  encounter  the  fascination 
which  he  finds  it  so  hard  to  withstand,  so  fatal  to  yield 
to? 

Nineteen  years  ago,  I  knew  an  instructor  who 
stood  in  relations  most  intimate  to  three  hundred 
students  of  a  college.  The  disorders  which  occasion- 
ally invade  such  institutions,  and  the  disgrace  and 
ruin  which  are  incurred  by  so  many  promising  young 
men,  result  almost  exclusively  from  the  use  of  intoxi- 
cating liquors.  This  fact  had  so  imprinted  itself  on 
this  instructor's  mind,  that  he  made  a  strenuous  effort 
to  induce  the  whole  of  this  noble  band  to  declare  for 
that  which  was  then  considered  the  true  principle, — 
total  abstinence  from  distilled  spirits.  Fermented 
stimulants  were  not  included;  but  it  was  pointedly 
intimated  that  intoxication  on  wine  or  beer  would  be 


DRINKING   USAGES.  289 

a  virtual  violation  of  the  engagement.  The  whole 
number,  with  perhaps  two  or  three  exceptions,  ac- 
quiesced ;  and,  for  a  few  months,  the  eifect  was  most 
marked  in  the  increased  order  of  the  institution,  and 
the  improved  bearing  of  its  inmates.  Soon,  however, 
there  were  aberrations.  Young  men  would  resort  oc- 
casionally to  hotels,  and  drink  champagne ;  or  they 
would  indulge  in  beer  at  eating-houses.  The  evil 
which  at  one  time  seemed  dammed  out,  was  about  to 
force  itself  back  ;  and  the  question  arose.  What  could 
be  done  ?  Then  that  professor  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion, that,  for  these  young  men  at  least,  there  was  no 
safety  but  in  abstinence  from  all  intoxicating  liquors. 
He  had  often  protested  against  including  wine  in  the 
same  category  with  ardent  spirits.  But  the  wine 
these  young  men  drank  was  as  fatal  to  them  and  to 
college-discipline  as  rum ;  and  the  simple  alternative 
was  between  continued  excesses,  on  the  one  hand,  or 
total  abstinence  from  all  intoxicating  beverage,  on 
the  other.  Under  such  circumstances,  this  professor 
did  not  long  hesitate.  He  determined  to  urge  and 
exhort  those  for  whose  welfare  he  was  so  fearfully 
responsible,  to  the  only  course  which  was  safe  for 
them.  But  there  wj-s  one  huge  difficulty  in  his  way. 
It  was  the  bottle  of  Madeira  which  stood  every  day 
upon  his  own  table.  He  felt,  that,  from  behind  that 
bottle,  his  plea  in  behalf  of  abstinence  from  all  vinous 
potations  would  sound  somewhat  strangely.  He  was 
not  ready  to  encounter  the  appeal  from  theory  to 
practice,  which  all  are  so  prompt  to  make, — none 
more  prompt  than  the  young, — when  they  deal  with 
the  teachers  of  unwholesome  doctrine.  He  deter- 
mined, therefore,  to  prepare  himself  for  his  duty  by 

25 


290  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

removing  every  hindrance  which  his  own  example 
could  place  in  the  way  of  the  impression  which  he 
was  bent  upon  producing.  Did  he  act  well  and 
wisely?  Ye  fathers  and  mothers,  who  know  with 
what  perils  the  young  are  encompassed  when  they  go 
forth  into  the  world,  would  you  have  advised  him  to 
cling  to  his  wine  ?  Or  you,  who  may  be  about  to 
commit  a  fiery  and  unstable  son  to  a  teacher's  care 
and  guidance,  would  you  prefer  that  this  teacher's 
example  and  influence  should  be  for  wine- drinking,  or 
against  it  ? 

But  if,  in  your  judgment,  that  professor  stands  ac- 
quitted—  nay,  if  you  actually  applaud  his  course, 
what,  permit  me  to  ask,  is  your  duty  ?  —  yours, 
fathers  and  mothers !  yours,  sisters  and  brothers ! 
yours,  employers  and  teachers !  There  is  not  one  of 
you  but  has  influence  over  others,  and  that  influence 
is  much  greater  than  you  are  apt  to  imagine.  Is  it 
not  a  sacred  trust,  which  should  never  be  abused  ?  0 
parents !  do  you  consider,  as  you  ought,  how  closely 
your  children  observe  all  your  ways,  and  how  eagerly 
and  recklessly  they  imitate  them  ?  Employers  !  do 
you  estimate  sufficiently  your  responsibility  in  regard 
to  hirelings  and  domestic  servants,  who  are  prompt 
to  adopt  your  habits  and  manners,  but  who  seldom 
possess  the  self-control  which  your  education  and 
position  constrain  you  to  exercise  ?  Your  precepts, 
enjoining  sobriety  and  moderation,  pass  for  little. 
Your  practice,  giving  color  and  countenance  to  self- 
indulgence,  sinks  deep  into  their  hearts.  One  hour 
spent  by  you  in  thoughtless  conviviality  may  plant 
the  seeds  of  sin  and  ruin  in  those  by  whom  you  are 
attended !     And  the  crowd  of  wives,  mothers,  sisters, 


DRINKING   USAGES.  291 

daughters,  that  I  see  before  me — do  they  always  con- 
sider with  what  wizard  power  they  rule  over  man's 
sterner  nature  ?  It  is  our  pride  and  privilege  to  defer 
to  your  sex.  At  all  periods  of  life,  and  in  all  rela- 
tions, you  speak  with  a  voice  which  penetrates  to  our 
gentler  and  nobler  sentiments.  Most  of  all  is  this 
the  case  when  you  burst  into  early  womanhood,  en- 
compassed by  bright  hopes  and  fond  hearts, — when 
the  Creator  adorns  you  with  graces  and  charms  that 
draw  towards  you  the  dullest  souls.  Ah  !  how  little 
do  you  appreciate,  then,  the  sway  which,  for  weal  or 
woe,  you  wield  over  those  of  our  sex  who  are  your 
companions  and  friends  !  Is  that  sway  always  wise 
and  holy  ?  Is  it  always  on  the  side  of  temperance 
and  self-command  ?  Alas  !  alas  !  could  the  grave  give 
up  its  secrets,  what  tales  of  horror  would  it  not  re- 
veal of  woman's  perverted  influence  —  of  woman 
thoughtlessly  leading  men,  through  the  intoxicating 
cup,  to  the  brink  of  utter  and  hopeless  ruin  !  One 
case  of  the  kind  was  mentioned  to  me  lately.  It  is 
but  one  of  many. 

A  young  man,  of  no  ordinary  promise,  unhappily 
contracted  habits  of  intemperance.  His  excesses 
spread  anguish  and  shame  through  a  large  and  most 
respectable  circle.  The  earnest  and  kind  remon- 
strance of  friends,  however,  at  length  led  him  to  de- 
sist ;  and  feeling  that  for  him  to  drink  was  to  die,  he 
came  to  a  solemn  resolution  that  he  would  abstain  en- 
tirely for  the  rest  of  his  days.  Not  long  after,  he  was 
invited  to  dine,  with  other  young  persons,  at  the  house 
of  a  friend.  Friend  !  did  I  say  ?  pardon  me :  he  could 
hardly  be  a  friend  who  would  deliberately  place  on 
the  table  before  one  lately  so  lost,  now  so  marvellously 


292  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

redeemed,  the  treacherous  instrument  of  his  downfall. 
But  so  it  was.  The  wine  was  in  their  feasts.  He 
withstood  the  fascination,  however,  until  a  young  lady, 
whom  he  desired  to  please,  challenged  him  to  drink. 
He  refused.  With  banter  and  ridicule  she  soon 
cheated  him  out  of  all  his  noble  purposes,  and  her 
challenge  was  accepted.  He  no  sooner  drank  than 
he  felt  that  the  demon  was  still  alive,  and  that 
from  temporary  sleep  he  was  now  waking  with 
tenfold  strength.  **  Now,"  said  he  to  a  friend  who 
sat  next  to  him,  "  now  I  have  tasted  again,  and  I 
drink  till  I  die."  The  awful  pledge  was  kept.  Not 
ten  days  had  passed  before  that  ill-fated  youth  fell 
under  the  horrors  of  delirium  tremens,  and  was  borne 
to  a  grave  of  shame  and  dark  despair.  Who  would 
envy  the  emotions  with  which  that  young  lady,  if  not 
wholly  dead  to  duty  and  to  pity,  retraced  her  part  in 
a  scene  of  gaiety,  which  smiled  only  to  betray  ? 

Let  me  not  be  misunderstood.  I  do  not  maintain 
that  drinking  wine  is,  in  the  language  of  the  schools, 
sin  per  se.  There  may  be  circumstances  under  which 
to  use  intoxicating  liquors  is  no  crime.  There  have 
been  times  and  places  in  which  the  only  intoxicating 
beverage  was  light  wine,  and  where  habits  of  inebri- 
ation were  all  but  unknown.  But  is  that  our  case  ? 
Distillation  has  filled  our  land  with  alcoholic  stimu- 
lants of  the  most  fiery  and  deleterious  character.  Our 
wines,  in  a  large  proportion  of  instances,  are  but 
spurious  compounds,  without  grape-juice,  and  with  a 
large  infusion  of  distilled  spirits,  and  even  of  more 
unhealthy  ingredients.  As  long  ago  as  the  days  of 
Addison,  we  read  in  the  Tatler  (No.  131)  that  in 
London  there  was  a  *'  fraternity  of  chemical  operators. 


DRINKING   USAGES.  203 

who  worked  under  ground  in  holes,  caverns,  and  dark 
retirements,  to  conceal  their  mysteries  from  the 
observation  of  mankind.  These  subterranean  phi- 
losophers are  daily  employed  in  the  transmutation  of 
liquors  ;  and,  hy  the  power  of  magical  drugs  and  in- 
cantations., raising^  under  the  streets  of  London,  the 
choicest  products  of  the  hills  and  valleys  of  France, 
They  can  squeeze  claret  out  of  the  sloe,  and  draw 
champagne  out  of  an  apple.''  The  practice  of  sub- 
stituting these  base  counterfeits  for  wine  extracted 
from  the  grape  has  become  so  prevalent  in  this 
country,  that  well-informed  and  conscientious  persons 
aver,  that  for  every  gallon  of  wine  imported  from 
abroad,  ten  or  more  are  manufactured  at  home.  "  Five- 
and- twenty  years  ago,"  says  the  late  J.  Fennimore 
Cooper,  "  when  I  first  visited  Europe,  I  was  aston- 
ished to  see  wine  drunk  in  tumblers.  I  did  not  at 
first  understand  that  half  of  what  I  had  been  drink- 
ing at  home  was  brandy  under  the  name  of  wine." 

These  adulterations  and  fabrications  in  the  wine 
trade  are  not  confined  to  our  country  or  to  England. 
They  abound  where  the  vine  flourishes  in  greatest 
abundance.  "  Though  the  pure  juice  of  the  grape," 
says  our  eminent  countryman,  Horatio  Greenough, 
(the  sculptor)  "can  be  furnished  here  (in  France)  for 
one  cent  a  bottle,  yet  the  retailers  choose  to  gain  a 
fraction  of  profit  by  the  admission  of  water  or  drugs." 
He  adds,  "  how  far  the  destructive  influence  of  wine, 
as  here  used,  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  grape,  and 
how  far  it  is  augmented  and  aggravated  by  poisonous 
adulterations,  it  would  be  difficult  to  say."  McMullen, 
a  recent  writer  on  wines,  states  that  in  France  there 
are  "  extensive  establishments  (existing  at  Cette  and 

25* 


294  DISCOURSES    AND    CHARGES. 

Marseilles)  for  the  manufacture  of  every  description 
of  wine,  both  white  and  red,  to  resemble  the  produce 
not  only  of  France,  but  of  all  other  wine-countries. 
It  is  no  uncommon  practice  with  speculators  engaged 
in  this  trade  to  purchase  and  ship  wines,  fabricated  in 
the  places  named,  to  other  ports  on  the  continent ; 
and,  being  branded  and  marked  as  the  genuine  wines 
usually  are,  they  are  then  transshipped  to  the  markets 
for  which  they  are  designed,  of  which  the  United 
States  is  the  chief.  Such  is  the  extent  to  which  this 
traffic  is  carried,  that  one  individual  has  been  referred 
to  in  the  French  ports  who  has  been  in  the  habit  of 
shipping,  four  times  in  the  year,  twenty  thousand 
bottles  of  champagne,  not  the  product  of  the  grape, 
but  fabricated  in  these  wine  factories.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  imposition  of  these  counterfeit  wines 
has  arrived  at  such  a  pitch  as  to  become  quite  notori- 
ous, and  the  subject  of  much  complaint,  in  this 
country  at  least."* 

In  the  presence  of  facts  like  these,  I  ask,  What  is 
our  duty.?  Were  nine  out  of  ten  of  the  coins  or  bank- 
bills  which  circulate,  counterfeit,  we  should  feel 
obliged  to  decline  them  altogether.  We  should  sooner 
dispense  entirely  with  such  a  medium  of  circulation, 
than  incur  the  hazard  which  would  be  involved  in 
using  it.  And,  even  if  we  could  discriminate  unerr- 
ingly ourselves  between  the  spurious  and  the  genuine, 
we  should  still  abstain, /or  the  sake  of  others^  lest  our 
example,  in  taking  such  a  medium  at  such  a  time, 
encourage  fabricators  in  their  work  of  fraud,  and  lead 
the  unwary  and  ignorant  to  become  their  victims. 
But,  in  such  a  case,  abstinence  would  be  practised  at 

*  McMullen,  on  Wines,  p.  172. 


DRINKING    USAGES.       ^  295 

great  personal  inconvenience.  It  is  not  so  with  ab- 
stinence from  intoxicating  drinks.  That  can  subject 
us  to  no  inconvenience  worthy  to  be  compared  with 
the  personal  immunity  with  which  it  invests  us,  and 
with  the  consoling  consciousness  that  we  are  giving 
no  encouragement  to  fraud,  and  placing  no  stumbling- 
block  in  the  way  of  the  weak  and  unwary. 

The  question,  then,  is  not.  What  may  have  been 
proper  in  other  days  or  other  lands,  in  the  time  of 
Pliny  or  of  Paul,  but  what  is  proper  now,  and  in  our 
own  land.  The  Apostle  points  us  to  a  case,  in  which 
to  eat  meat  might  cause  one's  brother  to  offend ;  and 
his  own  magnanimous  resolution,  under  such  circum- 
stances, he  thus  avows, — "  If  meat  m^ahe  my  brother 
to  offend,  I  will  eat  no  meat  while  the  world  stands." 
Thus  what  may  at  one  time  be  but  a  lawful  and  inno- 
cent liberty,  becomes  at  another  a  positive  sin.  The 
true  question,  then, — the  only  practical  question  for 
the  Christian  patriot  and  philanthropist, — is  this : 
"  Intemperance  abounds  !  Ought  not  my  personal 
influence,  whether  by  example  or  by  precept,  to  be 
directed  to  its  suppression?  Can  it  be  suppressed 
while  our  present  drinking  usages  continue  ?  In  a 
country  where  distilled  liquors  are  so  cheap  and  so 
abundant,  and  where  the  practice  of  adulterating 
every  species  of  fermented  liquor  abounds, — in  such 
a  country,  can  any  practical  and  important  distinc- 
tion be  made  between  different  kinds  of  intoxicating 
liquors  ?  If  abstinence  is  to  be  practised  at  all,  as  a 
prudential  or  a  charitable  act,  can  it  have  much  prac- 
tical value  unless  it  be  abstinence  from  all  that  can 
intoxicate  P"  These  questions  are  submitted,  without 
fear,  to  the  most  deliberate  and  searching  scrutiny. 


296  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

Ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  conclude.  Neither  your 
patience  nor  my  own  physical  powers  will  permit  me 
to  prosecute  this  subject.  I  devoutly  hope,  that  in 
the  remarks  which  I  have  now  submitted,  I  have 
offended  against  no  law  of  courtesy  or  kindness.  I 
wish  to  deal  in  no  railing  accusations,  no  wholesale 
denunciations.  When  Paul  appeared  before  the  licen- 
tious Felix,  he  reasoned  with  him  we  are  told,  of  tem- 
perance. It  is  the  only  appeal  that  I  desire  to  make. 
I  might  invoke  your  passions  or  your  prejudices;  but 
they  are  unworthy  instruments,  which  he  will  be  slow 
to  use  who  respects  himself;  and  they  are  instruments 
which  generally  recoil  with  violence  on  the  cause  that 
employs  them.  There  is  enough  in  this  cause  to  ap- 
prove itself  to  the  highest  reason,  and  to  the  most  up- 
right conscience.  Let  us  not  be  weary,  then,  in  call- 
ing them  to  our  aid.  If  we  are  earnest,  and  yet 
patient ;  if  we  speak  the  truth  in  love,  and  yet  speak 
it  with  all  perseverance  and  all  faithfulness,  it  must 
at  length  prevail.  But  few  years  have  passed  since 
some  of  us,  who  are  now  ardent  in  this  good  work, 
were  as  ignorant  or  skeptical  as  those  whom  we  are 
most  anxious  to  convince.  We  then  thought  our- 
selves conscientious  in  our  doubts,  or  even  in  our 
opposition.  Let  our  charity  be  broad  enough  to  con- 
cede to  those  who  are  not  yet  with  us  the  same  gene- 
rous construction  of  motives  which  we  then  claimed 
for  ourselves.  And  let  us  resolve,  that,  if  this  noble 
cause  be  not  advanced,  it  shall  be  through  no  fault  of 
ours ;  that  our  zeal  and  our  discretion  shall  go  hand 
in  hand ;  and  that  fervent  prayer  to  God  shall  join 
with  stern  and  indomitable  effort  to  secure  for  it  a 
triumph  alike  peaceful  and  permanent. 


DRINKING    USAGES.  297 

It  was  a  glorious  consciousness  which  enabled  St. 
Paul,  when  about  to  take  leave  of  those  amongst  whom 
he  had  gone  preaching  the  kingdom  of  God,  to  say, 
"  I  take  you  to  record  this  day  that  I  am  pure  from 
the  blood  of  all  men."  May  this  consciousness  be 
ours,  my  friends,  in  respect,  at  least,  to  the  blood  of 
drunkards  !  May  not  one  drop  of  the  blood  of  their 
ruined  souls  be  found  at  last  spotting  our  garments  ! 
Are  we  ministers  of  Christ  ?  Are  we  servants  and 
followers  of  Him  who  taught  that  it  is  more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive  ?  Let  us  see  to  it,  that  no 
blood-guiltiness  attaches  to  us  here.  We  can  take  a 
course  which  will  embolden  us  to  challenge  the  closest 
inspection  of  our  influence  as  it  respects  intemper- 
ance ;  which  will  enable  us  to  enter  without  fear,  on 
this  ground  at  least,  the  presence  of  our  Judge.  May 
no  false  scruples,  then,  no  fear  of  man  which  bringeth 
a  snare,  no  sordid  spirit  of  self-indulgence,  no  unre- 
lenting and  unreasoning  prejudice,  deter  us  from 
doing  that  over  which  we  cannot  fail  to  rejoice  when 
we  come  to  stand  before  the  Son  of  Man  ! 


SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 


PASTOKAL  LETTER  * 


My  Brethren  : 

A  short  time  since  I  was  requested  to  close  a  course 
of  valuable  and  instructive  lectures,  which  had  been 
delivered  by  five  of  my  reverend  brethrenf  before 
Sunday-school  teachers,  by  an  address  on  the  gene- 
ral advantages  of  Sunday -scJiools^  and  on  the  duty 
of  Christians  to  engage  in  teaching.  On  being  ap- 
plied to  by  those  before  whom  the  address  was  de- 
livered to  furnish  a  copy  for  publication,  I  was  advised 
to  issue  it  in  the  form  of  a  Pastoral  Letter,  that  it 
might  thus  come  before  the  clergy  and  congregations 
of  the  diocese.  To  this  suggestion  I  have  yielded 
with  some  reluctance,  fearing  that  on  a  subject  so 
much  discussed  and  so  generally  understood,  I  should 
not  be  able  to  offer  anything  worthy  of  your  perusal, 
yet  rejoicing  in  an  opportunity  to  testify  my  grateful 
devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  people  of  my  charge, 
and  especially  to  the  great  subject  of  Christian  edu- 
cation. 

Being  of  human  appointment,  Sunday-schools  can 

*  Issued  in  1846. 

t  Rev.  Dr.  Morton,  Rev.  Richard  Newton,  D.D.,  Rev.  Thomas 
M.  Clark,  Rev.  Dr.  Ducachet,  and  Rev.  Benjamin  Dorr,  D.D. 

26 


302  DISCOURSES  AND    CHARGES. 

claim  the  support  and  service  of  Christians  only  in 
proportion  as  they  give  promise  of  usefulness — so  that 
their  advantages  form  the  main  subject  for  my  re- 
marks. 

Before  entering  on  a  discussion  of  these  advantages, 
you  will  allow  me  to  remind  you  that  every  agent, 
however  wise  in  its  conception,  or  beneficent  in  its 
tendencies  and  capabilities,  is  yet  liable  to  abuse,  and 
that  in  whatever  degree  it  is  abused,  it  must  part  with 
its  appropriate  advantages,  and  become  an  instrument 
of  evil.  As  the  weapon  intended  and  calculated  to 
give  the  warrior  victory  over  others  may  be  turned 
by  him  with  suicidal  hand  against  his  own  life,  so  may 
the  Scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make  men  wise  unto 
salvation,  be  wrested  by  them  to  their  own  destruction, 
just  as  the  Church  of  God,  appointed  by  the  Redeemer 
to  be  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth,  may  be  so 
corrupted,  as  to  become  the  minister  of  little  but 
error  in  doctrine  or  viciousness  in  life.  It  is  the 
same  with  Sunday-schools.  On  the  one  hand  stands 
a  school  well  organized — well  superintended — well 
instructed — well  visited — above  all,  well  and  wisely 
prayed  for.  Fountain  only  of  blessing,  its  every  ex- 
ercise from  the  moment  appointed  for  its  meeting  to 
the  instant  when,  at  the  signal  from  the  bell,  its 
classes  file  out  in  regular  succession — quietly,  re- 
spectfully, amiably,  is  A  LESSON — a  lesson  in  order  ; 
a  lesson  in  punctuality  ;  a  lesson  in  neatness  ;  a 
lesson  in  patience  ;  a  lesson  in  attention  ;  a  lesson  in 
subordination  to  lawful  authority,  in  docility^  as 
learners  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  in  reverence 
towards  God,  and  in  meekness^  courtesy,  and  kind- 
ness towards  all  with  whom  the  pupil  is  associate  d 


USES   OF  THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL.  303 

And  what  is  better,  these  lessons  are  practised  at  the 
same  time  that  they  are  learned — or  rather,  they  are 
learned  by  being  practised.  The  direct  religious  in- 
struction which  aims  at  depositing  precious  seed  in 
young  and  susceptible  minds,  is  but  a  part, — I  had 
almost  said,  it  is  the  smallest  part — of  the  high  and 
holy  influence  which  by  God's  blessing  will  follow 
such  a  school,  an  influence  which  becomes  incorpo- 
rated with  the  very  nature  of  its  youthful  charge, 
going  with  them  into  life,  and  may  we  not  hope 
through  life,  in  many  instances  to  a  happy  immor- 
tality ? 

But  on  the  other  hand  stands  a  school  not  well  or- 
ganized— not  well  taught — not  well  and  wisely  prayed 
for.  It  is  not  punctually  opened.  Its  introductory 
devotions  are  not  offered  reverently,  and  amid  pro- 
found stillness,  broken  only  by  clear  and  orderly  re- 
sponses. Its  exercises  are  carried  forward  amidst 
noise  and  irregularity.  The  children  do  not  come  in 
neat  dresses,  or  with  cleanly  persons;  they  do  not 
recite  carefully  to  teachers  who  seem  anxious  to  im- 
part full  and  exact  knowledge  to  the  understanding, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  make  deep,  abiding,  and 
salutary  impressions  on  the  heart.  Not  earnestly 
engaged  in  the  work — with  no  adequate  preparation 
before  he  comes  to  meet  his  class — the  teacher  seems 
intent  only  on  discharging  an  irksome  task,  while  his 
levity,  indifference,  impatience,  or  sternness,  perhaps 
all  combined,  contribute  to  impart  to  the  quick  appre- 
hension of  a  child,  anything  but  respect  for  him — 
anything  but  sympathy  for  the  truth  which  (by  his 
example,  if  not  by  his  precept)  he  so  grievously  mis- 
represents. 


804  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

Need  I  say  that  such  schools  exist,  and  that  they 
represent  not  the  legitimate  workings  of  the  noble 
Sunday-school  system,  but  its  abuse  and  perversion. 
That  they  do  no  good  I  will  not  presume  to  say.  It 
is  something  to  have  children  rescued  on  the  Lord's 
day,  even  for  one  or  two  brief  hours,  from  idleness 
and  disorder,  perhaps  from  ribaldry  and  licentiousness 
— something  to  have  them  gathered  where  there  is  an 
approach,  however  distant,  to  neatness  and  order  ;  to 
have  even  a  few  facts  and  principles  connected  with 
our  holy  religion,  and  with  the  soul's  eternal  welfare, 
lodged  in  their  memory,  and  wrought,  however  imper- 
fectly and  partially,  into  their  understanding.  Yes, 
it  is  something,  it  is  much,  to  have  those  who  at  home 
may  hear  but  little  except  scandal,  vituperation, 
obscenity,  and  oaths — to  have  them  collected  where 
they  can  learn  that  there  is  a  God  to  be  feared,  a 
Saviour  to  be  loved ;  that  they  have  solemn  duties 
and  responsibilities  resting  upon  them  everywhere  ; 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  government  and  lawful 
authority,  and  such  graces  as  courtesy,  gentleness, 
forbearance,  and  subordination.  Yet  what  serious 
deductions  must  be  made  even  from  these  advantages, 
when  we  consider  that  such  pupils  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  do,  in  a  loose  and  slovenly  manner,  what, 
with  nearly  the  same  trouble,  they  might  have  been 
trained  to  do  well ;  that  instead  of  acquiring  a  taste 
for  religious  reading,  and  a  relish  for  the  services  of 
the  sanctuary,  they  have  contracted,  perhaps,  disgust 
for  all  serious  books,  perhaps  aversion  to  the  very 
name  of  the  house  of  God ;  that  instead  of  being 
taught  to  think,  they  have  been  taught  to  study  and 
to  recite  without  thinking ;  have  received  little  infor- 


USES   OF  THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL.  305 

mation  where  they  might  have  acquired  much,  while 
nothing  has  been  done  to  awaken  the  affections,  to 
impress  the  conscience,  to  quicken  the  spiritual  appre- 
hension through  the  imagination,  or  to  enlist  the  will 
in  active  and  persevering  efforts  to  do  right.  Who 
that  knows  the  insidious,  inflexible  nature  of  habit, 
does  not  know  that  dark  and  ineffaceable  lines  of 
evil  may  'ous  be  traced  on  the  child's  soul,  and  that 
through  eternity  he  may  look  back  with  deep  regret 
on  injury  he  received,  on  wrongs  done  to  him  within 
the  sacred  precincts  of  a  school,  opened  in  the  name 
and  for  the  service  of  Jesus  Christ. 

I  place  the  evil,  both  positive  and  negative,  which 
may  thus  accrue,  from  schools  badly  conducted,  dis- 
tinctly before  you,  because  it  is  all-important  to  re- 
member that  what  we  aim  at  is  not  merely  to  have 
Sunday-schools,  but  to  have  good  ones ;  not  merely 
to  induce  Christians  to  engage  as  superintendents 
and  teachers,  but  to  have  them  engage  with  such  a 
deep  sense  of  their  responsibility,  that  they  will  spare 
no  pains  to  qualify  themselves  well  for  the  work. 
While  devoutly  thankful  to  God  for  the  benefits 
already  attained,  they  who  most  value  Sunday-schools 
are  bent  on  seeing  the  standard  of  excellence  ad- 
vanced to  a  yet  higher  point.  To  be  content  with 
our  present  attainments  is  always  a  precursor  of  de- 
cline, as  well  as  a  mark  of  weakness.  The  one  con- 
dition of  great  achievements  is  to  be  grateful  for  what 
we  have  been  able  to  do — but  intent  at  the  same  time 
on  doing  something  nobler  and  better.  By  spreading 
among  teachers  clearer  views  of  the  nature  and  mag- 
nitude of  their  duty,  we  may  hope  to  incite  them  to 
greater  zeal  and  assiduity.     By  presenting  to  those 

2G* 


306  DISCOURSES    AND   CHARGES. 

who  are  not  teachers  the  advantages  and  hlessings 
which  would  result,  were  Sunday-schools  more  fully 
appreciated,  and  more  earnestly  upheld,  we  may  hope 
to  draw  hy  degrees  to  their  support  the  best  talent 
and  the  most  devoted  piety  of  every  congregation. 
Thus  shall  we  infuse  into  a  system  already  fraught 
with  abundant  blessing,  an  element  of  progress  and 
improvement,  which  shall  secure  that  with  each  suc- 
ceeding year  it  will  contribute  more  and  more  to  the 
glory  of  <jod  and  the  improvement  of  man's  estate. 

But  what  are  the  general  advantages  of  Sunday- 
scJiools  ? 

I.  To  Pastors. — Considered  in  the  twofold  cha- 
racter which  he  now  sustains  to  the  young — that  of 
Pastor  and  Catechist — the  minister  of  Christ  will  be 
found  to  receive  from  Sunday-schools  most  efificient 
and  essential  aid.  It  is  too  true  that,  as  sometimes 
conducted,  they  do,  in  a  measure,  supersede  his  pro- 
per agency  in  the  training  of  the  young.  But  still, 
that  pastor  who  is  most  faithful  in  discharging  this 
duty,  whose  affections  are  most  fervently  enlisted  in 
its  behalf,  whose  spirit  is  most  moved  and  stirred 
within  him  when  he  looks  upon  the  eventful  golden 
years  of  childhood  and  youth — is  he  not  the  one  who 
will  feel  most  deeply  the  need  of  such  co-operation 
as  Sunday-schools  can  afford?  Properly  adminis- 
tered, they  are  the  means  of  calling  around  him,  as 
fellow-laborers,  operating  under  his  eye  and  direction, 
the  best  instructed  and  the  most  devoted  members  of 
his  flock — calling  them  to  assist  in  training  the  young 
to  a  proper  knowledge  and  appreciation  of  their  Chris- 
tian privileges  and  responsibilities.  Being  subdivided 
into  small  classes,  the  children  receive,  each  one, 


USES   OF   THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL.  307 

more  instruction  than  could  be  given  to  them  if  they 
were  taught  collectively  ;  and  at  the  same  time  they 
receive  that  which  is  best  adapted  to  their  age  and 
capacity.  While  receiving  it,  too,  they  are  subjected 
to  useful  discipline,  and  if  supplied  with  proper  in- 
structors, they  have  before  them  edifying  examples 
of  the  Christian  virtues  and  graces.  Consider  the  ef- 
fect of  this  arrangement  in  opening  the  hearty  and 
in  preparing  the  understanding  of  a  child  to  receive 
the  pastor  s  teaching.  Whether  he  teach  from  the 
Scriptures  or  the  Catechism,  is  it  not  most  important 
that  he  should  be  able  to  address  minds  that  are 
already  furnished  with  some  measure  of  knowledge, 
and  excited  to  some  degree  of  interest  ? 

When,  then,  from  the  platform  of  his  Sunday- 
school^  the  minister  of  Christ  examines  and  addresses 
his  youthful  flock,  he  occupies  one  of  the  noblest  and 
most  effective  of  pulpits.  He  has  the  lambs  of  the 
fold  by  themselves.  In  humble  imitation  of  his  Di- 
vine Master,  he  can  take  them  in  his  arms,  he  can 
lay  his  hands  upon  them  and  bless  them.  He  has 
them,  too,  in  company  with  their  teachers,  who  have 
just  been  discussing  with  them  the  same  themes.  He 
has  them  with  minds  instructed  and  quickened.  With 
what  effect  may  he  not  explain,  exhort,  and  reprove ! 
How  deep  and  imperishable  the  lessons  which  he  may 
write  upon  hearts  thus  prepared — hearts  that  are  wax 
to  receive,  but  marble  to  retain  !  Instead  of  exone- 
rating him  from  the  duty  he  owes  to  the  children  of 
his  flock,  the  Sunday-school  has  but  given  him  new 
motives,  it  has  but  supplied  him  with  new  means  for 
discharging  it.  While  he  can  give  but  one  or  two 
hours  in  each  week  to  the  task,  that  school  has  in  ef- 


308  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

feet  given  as  many  hours  as  it  has  teachers,  and  given 
them  in  order  to  qualify  and  to  predispose  the  children 
to  drink  in  his  instructions  with  willing  minds  and 
thirsting  hearts. 

Consider,  further,  how  by  these  means  the  sphere 
of  a  Pastor's  influence  over  the  young  is  enlarged. 
Were  he  alone  to  instruct  children,  he  could  hardly 
expect,  in  the  present  state  of  the  Christian  world,  to 
gather  more  than  those  that  belong  to  his  own  fold. 
Indeed,  without  more  visiting  and  personal  attention 
than  clergymen,  already  overburdened  with  care,  can 
well  afford,  he  could  rarely  secure  the  attendance 
even  of  the  children  in  his  own  congregation.  Under 
the  Sunday-school  system  he  enlists  the  aid  of  Chris- 
tians active  in  their  habits,  and  not  overcharged  with 
cares,  who  can  go  from  house  to  house  encouraging 
the  members  of  the  congregation  to  send  their  little 
ones,  and  to  send  them  punctually  and  statedly.  The 
same  persons  extend  their  visits  beyond  the  parish : 
they  go  to  those  that  are  afar  off.  In  the  true  spirit 
of  the  Gospel,  so  missionary  and  aggressive  in  its 
love,  they  go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges. 
They  compel  the  ignorant  and  the  neglected  "to 
come  in,"  that  thus  the  table  spread  with  instruction 
may  be  filled,  and  the  Pastor  have  access  to  multi- 
tudes who  otherwise  had  never  listened  to  his  voice, 
nor  sat  beneath  the  droppings  of  the  sanctuary.  If 
to  all  this  you  add  the  silent  but  effective  teaching 
which  the  pupil  carries  with  him  to  his  own  home,  in 
the  form  of  religious  books  —  books  so  expressly 
adapted  to  excite  to  thoughtfulness  the  young  and 
untutored  mind  —  you  will  then  be  able  to  judge 
whether  the  Sunday-school  be  not  indeed  the  right 


USES   OF   THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL.  809 

arm  of  a  wise  Pastor's  strength.  The  ancient  and 
venerable  system  of  catechizing  needs  to  be  main- 
tained. It  needs  to  be  maintained  with  increased 
vigor  and  effect.  But  deprive  it  of  the  aid  which 
well-conducted  Sunday-schools  afford  in  collecting 
the  children,  in  interesting  them  by  the  various  means 
now  so  skilfully  employed,  in  preparing  their  under- 
standings and  their  hearts  for  the  reception  of  the 
Pastor's  teaching,  in  cultivating  a  taste  for  religious 
reading ;  and  in  such  case  how  much  more  meagre 
the  instruction,  and  how  much  feebler  the  impression 
which  that  system,  though  administered  with  the  most 
burning  zeal,  could  impart  ? 

II.  But  some  one  may  say.  How  is  it  with  the  pa- 
rents ?  Does  not  the  work  assigned  to  Sunday- 
school  teachers  properly  belong  to  them  ?  Are  they 
not  charged,  even  by  the  God  of  nature,  with  the  in- 
struction as  well  as  with  the  guardianship  and  main- 
tenance of  their  children  ?  To  that  charge  has  not 
the  God  of  the  Bible  added  the  most  solemn  and  ex- 
plicit injunctions,  both  in  the  Old  Testament  and  in 
the  New  ?  Has  not  our  Church  enforced  those  in- 
junctions by  every  means  in  her  power ;  and  yet  the 
Sunday-school,  does  it  not  tend  to  discharge  parents 
from  these  most  solemn  and  imperative  obligations  ? 
I  answer,  that  such  a  tendency  cannot  belong  to  the 
system.  It  can^  belong  only  to  its  abuse.  The  more 
weighty  the  responsibilities  of  a  parent,  the  more 
must  he  feel  prompted  to  ask.  Who  is  sufficient  for 
these  things  ?  And,  that  he  may  and  ought  to  derive 
aid  from  others — for  example,  from  his  Pastor — is 
evident  from  the  authoritative  charge  given  by  the 
Saviour  through  St.  Peter  to  all  his  ministers,  ''Feed 


310  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

my  lambs,''  That  in  our  communion,  at  least,  he 
ought  to  be  assisted  by  lay  members  also,  is  evident 
from  that  rubric  in  our  baptismal  office  which  requires 
that  there  should  be  in  the  case  of  every  child  at  least 
three  sponsors,  i.  e.,  three  pledges  for  every  child's 
religious  training,  other  than  his  parents^  a  rubric 
which  may  indeed  be  relaxed  in  this  country,  but 
which,  in  England,  is  enforced  by  a  positive  canon, 
that  prohibits  parents  from  acting  as  sponsors,  and 
requires  every  sponsor  to  be  a  communicant. 

But  further.  What  parent  hesitates  to  avail  him- 
self of  the  aid  of  teachers  in  communicating  general 
knowledge  to  his  children  ?  or  in  developing  their  fa- 
culties and  forming  their  character  for  this  world  ?  It 
is  by  no  means  easy  to  find  any  argument  for  such  aid 
which  may  not  be  extended  wuth  something  like  the 
same  force  to  the  aid  which  is  proffered  by  Sunday- 
schools  in  the  religious  training  of  our  offspring.  It 
is  aid^  remember !  not  a  substitute  —  intended  to 
strengthen  a  parent's  influence,  not  to  supersede  it. 
That  parent  may  be  well-instructed  himself;  he  may 
be  deeply  religious ;  he  may  have  aptness  for  teach- 
ing, and  leisure  for  the  work — still  he  will,  in  our  opi- 
nion, do  well  to  invoke  assistance  from  without,  and 
from  the  Sunday-school. 

1st.  Because  in  the  regular  recurrence  of  its  exer- 
cises, and  in  the  necessity  of  preparing  his  children 
for  them,  the  most  faithful  parent  finds  a  fresh  im- 
pulse (always  needed)  to  the  more  punctual  and 
thorough  discharge  of  his  own  duty. 

2d.  Because,  though  himself  superior  to  the  teacher 
employed,  both  in  knowledge  and  in  Christian  attain- 
ments, that  teacher  may  still  have  a  greater  tact  in 


USES  OF  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL.  311 

reaching  a  child's  apprehension,  or  in  rousing  his 
torpid  conscience. 

3d.  Because  most  parents  feel  more  or  less  embar- 
rassment when  they  deal  with  their  children  in  regard 
to  their  eternal  peace;  the  very  intenseness  of  their 
interest  often  rendering  them  injudicious  as  teachers ; 
their  partiality  blinding  them  to  the  faults  and  frail- 
ties of  their  children;  frequent  repetition  and  con- 
stant intercourse  deadening  the  effect  of  their  ap- 
peals ;  and  conscience  (always  most  active  in  pious 
bosoms)  whispering  to  the  parent  that  his  life,  so 
closely  and  intimately  known  to  his  children,  may 
have  paralyzed  the  power  and  authority  of  his  reli- 
gious teaching. 

Consider,  too,  the  oblique  or  incidental  instruction 
which  a  pupil  at  Sunday-school  derives  from  what  he 
hears  addressed  to  others,  as  well  as  from  what  he 
observes  of  their  conduct,  and  of  the  discipline  to 
which  they  are  subjected.  "  At  home,"  says  an  ancient 
writer  on  education  (Quintilian),  "  a  boy  can  learn  only 
what  is  taught  him,  but  in  a  school  he  can  learn  what 
is  taught  to  others." 

And  then,  is  it  not  well  to  remember  that  in  a  Sun- 
day-school children  of  different  social  positions  and 
relations  are  brought  together,  and  a  spirit  of  Chris- 
tian fellowship  and  communion  engendered,  which  may 
last  through  life,  and  thus  contribute  to  break  down 
those  conventional  and  unchristian  barriers  which  too 
often  separate  those  who  worship  at  the  same  altar. 
How  despotic  and  exacting  must  be  the  fashion  of  this 
world  when  it  will  not  allow  even  a  common  Lord,  a 
common  faith,  a  common  baptism,  to  bind  together  the 
members  of  the  same  spiritual  household  in  the  bonds 


312  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

of  true  and  heartfelt  brotherhood.  They  shall  sit 
beneath  the  same  roof — they  shall  unite  in  the  same 
prayers  and  praises — they  shall  listen  to  appeals  from 
the  same  consecrated  lips — they  shall  handle  the  same 
symbols  of  a  Saviour's  broken  body  and  shed  blood, 
and  rest  their  ashes  at  last  beneath  the  same  holy 
benediction ;  and  yet  they  shall  occupy  from  year  to 
year  adjoining  pews,  without  exchanging  one  token  of 
fraternal  regard,  or  even  of  courteous  recognition. 
Honor  and  precedence  shall  be  given  in  the  house  of  ^ 
God  to  worldly  rank,  merely,  perhaps,  because  it  is 
worldly  rank.  There  shall  come  into  the  assembly  a 
man  with  a  gold  ring,  in  goodly  apparel ;  and  there 
shall  come  in  also  a  poor  man,  in  vile  raiment ;  and 
they  shall  have  respect  unto  him  that  weareth  the  gay 
clothing  and  say  unto  him,  Sit  thou  here,  in  a  good 
place,  and  say  to  the  poor.  Stand  thou  there,  or  sit 
here  under  my  footstool.  Is  it  not  something,  brethren, 
that  the  Sunday-school  tends,  by  its  system  of  classi- 
fication and  its  early  and  long-cherished  associations, 
to  melt  down  these  factitious  barriers,  and  to  bind 
together  in  true  unity  of  spirit  those  who  were  at  first 
made  of  one  blood — have  by  one  blood  been  redeemed 
— and  who  hope,  through  that  same  redeeming  blood, 
to  meet  at  last  as  ransomed  prodigals  in  one  Father* 8 
house  ? 

Before  leaving  this  branch  of  the  subject,  let  me 
remind  parents  that  we  get  good  by  doing  good  ;  that 
it  is  in  dispensing  blessings  to  others  that  we  are 
carried  where  God  will  most  surely  shed  blessings  on 
our  own  souls.  When  children  from  respectable,  pious, 
and  well-trained  families  go  to  Sunday-school,  they 
cannot  but  be  centres  there  of  a  holy  and  benignant 


USES   OF  THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL.  313 

influence.  Their  intelligence,  their  manners,  their 
deportment,  shall  all  be  sources  of  instruction  to  chil- 
dren less  favored.  Others,  too,  who  but  for  their  ex- 
ample or  solicitation  would  never  have  attended,  shall 
be  attracted  to  the  school.  Especially  shall  this  be 
the  case  with  the  children  of  the  poor.  Did  none  but 
the  offspring  of  poverty  and  neglect  resort  to  it,  not 
only  would  the  standard  of  instruction  and  conduct 
be  sadly  lowered — not  only  would  many  competent 
teachers  be  deterred  from  enlisting  in  its  service — ^but 
even  the  poor  themselves,  loath  to  confess  to  the  charge 
of  indigence,  would  shun  a  place  associated  in  their 
minds,  and  in  the  minds  of  others,  only  with  penury 
and  degradation.  Hence,  as  it  seems  to  me,  a  special 
reason  for  collecting  the  inmates  of  our  Sunday-schools 
from  every  rank  of  life,  and  since  it  is  more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive,  may  we  not  hope  that  those 
who  go  from  affluent  and  well-instructed  families,  car- 
rying real  blessings  to  others,  will  not  themselves  be 
left  unblessed  of  God  ?  Above  all,  may  we  not  cherish 
this  hope,  when  we  consider  that  in  addition  to  a 
parent's  prayers,  never  too  frequently  or  too  fervently 
offered  for  his  children,  these  children  gain  a  place 
in  the  prayers  of  teachers  and  superintendents,  who, 
if  worthy  of  their  employment,  are  not  without  power 
before  the  mercy-seat  of  heaven. 

I  cannot  pass  from  this  topic  without  remarking, 
also,  that  I  have  thus  far  supposed  parents  to  be  ade- 
quately impressed  with  the  importance  of  a  religious 
training  for  their  children,  and  to  have  leisure  and 
ability  for  all  it  demands.  But  how  many  are  there 
who  have  the  ability  without  the  necessary  leisure,  or 
the  leisure  without  the  necessary  ability.      And  if 

27 


314  DISCOURSES   A^B   CHARGES. 

there  are  parents  whose  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to 
God  is,  that  their  children  may  be  saved,  and  that  in 
order  to  this,  they  may  be  rightly  instructed  out  of 
the  Scriptures ;  how  many  are  there — what  vast  mul- 
titudes, alas ! — who  care  for  none  of  these  things ; 
some  who  frequent  the  courts  of  the  Lord,  some  who 
never  come  within  those  courts.  Is  it  not  well,  then, 
that  their  children,  those  scattered,  lost  lambs  of  the 
fold,  they  who  are  worse  than  orphans — should  be 
adopted  by  some  faithful  servant  of  God,  and  made 
the  subject  of  ceaseless  prayer  before  Sim,  as  well  as 
of  assiduous  instruction  and  culture. 

Having  thus  pointed  out  some  of  the  services  which 
Sunday-schools,  rightly  conducted,  can  render  to 
parents  and  pastors,  I  come  to  the  advantages  which 
they  promise  to — 

III.  The  Teacher  himself. — To  be  a  good  teacher 
one  must  be,  at  the  same  time,  a  diligent  learner.  A 
wise  man  has  said,  that  he  is  a  poor  instructor  who, 
in  the  act  of  teaching,  does  not  acquire  more  than  he 
imparts  to  his  pupils.  However  familiar  with  a  sub- 
ject, one  needs  to  reflect  as  well  on  its  first  principles 
and  uses,  as  on  the  tone  and  habits  of  the  learner's 
mind,  in  order  to  be  able  to  cast  upon  it  such  lights, 
and  place  it  in  such  attitudes  as  will  be  most  likely 
to  arrest  attention,  excite  emotion,  and  rouse  to 
thoughtfulness.  It  is  when  the  teacher  makes  these 
efforts  that  he  discovers  for  the  first  time  how  vast 
and  almost  boundless  is  truth,  and  above  all,  religious 
truth;  how  manifold  the  forms  and  expressions  which 
the  same  general  fact  of  doctrine  may  be  made  to 
assume;  how  multitudinous  its  connections  with  other 
truths,  and  with  the  various  interests  of  our  present 


USES   OF   THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL.  815 

and  future  being;  how  admirably  fitted  it  is  to  occupy 
the  thoughts  and  warm  the  affections,  and  stir  up  the 
nobler  aspirations  and  quicken  the  best  activities  of  a 
mind  that  must  live  and  exercise  itself  forever  ;  and 
how  it  is  thus  written  all  over  with  the  signature  of 
the  Divinity — with  attestations  clear  and  incontesta- 
ble that  its  source  and  centre  is  God. 

Nor  think,  because  it  is  a  little  child  we  teach,  that 
therefore  no  study  is  necessary.  He  only  can  suc- 
cessfully seize  and  hold  a  child's  attention  who  is  able 
either  intuitively  (and  that  is  the  gift  of  few),  or  in 
consequence  of  deep  and  patient  thought,  to  fasten 
upon  the  great  central  principle  of  a  subject,  and 
present  it  with  transparent  clearness  and  simplicity. 
And  in  Sunday-schools,  he  only  is  found  an  effective 
teacher  who  will  take  pains  beforehand  to  read,  mark, 
learn,  and  inwardly  digest,  that  portion  of  Scripture, 
or  of  the  Catechism,  which  is  about  to  be  recited  to 
him.  Whatever  in  his  explanations  is  vague  and  in- 
definite, whatever  is  crude  and  unsystematic,  what- 
ever is  expressed  in  the  cold,  spiritless  language  of 
the  schools,  and  of  an  abstract  philosophy,  instead  of 
being  presented  in  the  vivid,  significant,  picturesque 
style  that  can  come  only  from  a  mind  made  clear  and 
warm  by  reflection,  that  will  be  found  of  little  compa- 
rative interest,  and  therefore  of  little  comparative 
profit  to  a  child.  "  Analogy,"  says  the  author  of 
Proverbial  Philosophy,  "  Analogy  is  milh  for  babes, 
but  abstract  truths  are  strong  meat.  Precepts  and 
rules  are  repulsive  to  a  child,  but  happy  illustration 
winneth  him.  In  vain  shait  thou  preach  of  industry 
and  prudence  till  he  learn  of  the  bee  and  ant ;  dimly 
will  he  think  of  his  soul  till  the  acorn  and  chrysalis 


316  DISCOURSES   AND    CHARGES. 

have  taught  him :  he  will  fear  God  in  thunder,  and 
worship  his  loveliness  in  flowers,  and  parables  shall 
charm  his  heart,  while  doctrines  seem  dead  mystery." 
Another  principle  deserves  notice  here.  As  there 
are  words  that  darken  counsel,  so  there  is  a  learning 
and  a  sublety  which  inspire  false  instead  of  true  wis- 
dom, that  wisdom  (as  it  is  called  in  the  Bible)  of  this 
world,  which  is  foolishness  with  God.  Is  it  not  well 
worthy  of  remark — the  mournful  fact !  that  men  who 
have  made  the  world  resound  with  the  fame  of  their 
genius,  with  their  achievements  in  literature,  science, 
philosophy,  active  life,  in  the  senate  or  in  the  field, 
seem  often  to  be  less  than  children  when  they  apply 
their  understandings  to  the  great  mystery  of  godliness. 
That  which  will  commend  itself  with  intuitive  convic- 
tion to  a  little  child's  mind,  may  seem  unmeaning  jar- 
gon or  impenetrable  paradox  to  a  mind  that  has  com- 
passed the  world's  science,  but  in  doing  so,  has  lost 
sight  of  its  own  weakness  and  insignificance  before 
God.  Those  truths  that  pertain  to  the  soul,  to  its 
ruin  through  sin,  to  its  wretchedness  and  helplessness 
if  left  to  itself,  to  the  infinite  riches  of  grace  and  glory 
in  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  way  of  reconciliation  through 
this  incarnate  sufi*ering  Son  of  God,  they  are  but  dark 
parables  to  the  self-complacent  Sadducee  as  well  as  to 
the  self-righteous  Pharisee.  And  hence,  as  it  seems 
to  me  the  language  of  Christ,  "  Except  ye  be  con- 
verted, and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  in  no 
wise  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."  The  Saviour 
takes  a  little  child  and  places  him  before  his  disciples, 
not  as  their  model  only,  but  as  the  representative  of 
those  who  shall  be  greatest  in  his  kingdom ;  for  is  it 
not  in  a  docile  temper,  in  a  simple  and  direct  yearn- 


USES   OF   THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL.  817 

ing  after  truth,  in  a  confiding  self-renouncing  spirit, 
in  a  deep  sense  of  its  own  weakness  and  insufficiency 
(all  attributes  of  a  little  child),  that  we  have  the  best 
pledge  for  great  attainments,  whether  in  knowledge 
or  in  holiness.  Who  so  childlike  as  the  greatest 
saints  f  Who  so  humble  as  the  sage  who  has  ascended 
the  highest  heaven  of  invention  ?  When  is  the  proud, 
self-relying,  turbulent  spirit  so  transformed  and  sub- 
dued, as  if  by  enchantment,  into  a  wise  and  meek 
obedience,  as  when,  brought  by  danger,  sorrow,  afflic- 
tion, near  to  God,  it  feels  its  own  helplessness,  and 
through  that  helplessness  reads,  as  a  child,  the  wis- 
dom of  Christ,  and  him  crucified. 

When,  then,  a  religious  teacher  (a  teacher  in  the 
Sunday-school)  brings  his  mind  down^  as  it  is  usually 
termed,  to  the  level  of  a  child's,  that  he  may  instruct 
him  all  the  better  in  first  principles  of  the  doctrine  of 
Christ,  what,  in  effect,  does  he  do  ?  He  places  his 
soul — his  whole  intellectual,  moral,  and  spiritual  na- 
ture, at  the  very  point  where  the  beauty  and  excel- 
lency of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  is  most  likely  to 
break  upon  it  with  clearness  and  convincing  force. 
He  divests  himself  of  modes  of  expression  and  forms 
of  thought,  which  are  all  useful  in  their  place,  but 
which  give  little  help  in  that  great  essential  act  of  the 
Christian  life,  by  which  the  heart,  believing  unto 
righteousness,  is  at  the  same  time  made  wise  unto 
salvation.  He  disenchants  himself,  not  of  true  know- 
ledge, but  of  that  which  pufieth  up — of  science,  falsely 
so  called,  which  leaves  God  too  much  out  of  its  field 
of  vision — of  a  philosophy  which  is  divorced  from  the 
heart  and  conscience  w^ith  their  deep  cravings — and 
he  comes  back  still  rich,  perhaps,  in  all  intellectual 

27* 


318  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

wealth,  yet  meek  and  lowly,  in  the  very  spirit  of  the 
Redeemer,  that  to  him  that  Redeemer  may  fulfil  the 
gracious  promise,  "  the  meek  shall  he  guide  in  judg- 
ment, and  the  meek  shall  he  teach  his  way.''  Thus 
it  has  been  with  the  wisest  sages,  who  have  ever  been 
taught  effectually  the  doctrine  that  is  according  to 
godliness ;  thus  it  must  be  with  all,  whatever  their 
intellectual  rank,  who  would  share  in  the  same  saving 
knowledge.  How  auspicious,  then,  the  circumstances 
in  which  the  Sunday-school  teacher  is  placed.  In 
order  to  put  himself  successfully  in  communication 
with  his  pupil,  he  is  obliged  to  bring  his  mind  into 
the  very  posture  most  favorable  to  his  own  edification. 
He  has  the  strongest  motive  to  give  himself  unto 
reading  and  exhortation — to  listen  with  a  quick  ear 
and  understanding  heart  to  every  lesson  that  comes 
from  the  desk  or  the  pulpit,  and  to  neglect  nothing 
which  may  aid  in  the  clearer  apprehension  or  in 
the  more  effective  communication  of  the  truth  of 
Christ. 

Nor  is  the  influence  of  his  duties  on  the  teacher's 
heart  likely  to  be  less  benign.  Meditation  and  dis- 
course beget  sensibility.  It  is  when  we  muse  that  the 
fire  kindles.  It  is  when  we  are  talking  together  by 
the  way,  that  the  Saviour  seems  to  meet  our  souls,  and 
reason  with  us  out  of  the  Scripture.  It  is  when  truth 
is  dwelt  upon,  revolved,  made  to  pass  and  repass  in 
various  garb  and  ever-changing  companionship,  then 
it  is  that  our  hearts  begin  to  burn  within  us.  Tran- 
sient glimpses  of  truth  rarely  affect  the  heart ;  still 
more  rarely  do  they  move  with  power  and  lasting  ef- 
fect the  ivill — that  fountain  of  all  positive  and  deter- 
mined action.     What  depths  in  the  Gospel  verities  lie 


USES   OF  THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL.  319 

unfathomed?  what  treasures  unopened,  ungathered, 
because  men  will  not  think  ?  Before  the  moral  and 
spiritual  eye  can  dilate  its  pupil,  so  as  to  discern  dis- 
tinctly truths  so  repellent  to  the  carnal  sense,  as  are 
those  of  Christ's  Gospel,  there  must  be  waiting  at 
wisdom's  door.  The  vis  inertice  of  our  spiritual  na- 
ture must  be  acted  upon  and  urged  for  some  while, 
before  its  resistance  gives  way,  and  motion  takes  the 
place  of  rest.  How  true  the  language  of  Archbishop 
Usher:  "There  is  a  thing,"  he  says,  in  one  of  his 
sermons,  "  wondrously  wanting  amongst  us,  and  that 
is  meditation.  If  we  would  give  ourselves  to  it,  and 
go  up  with  Moses  to  the  mount  to  confer  with  God, 
and  seriously  think  of  the  price  of  Christ's  death,  and 
of  the  joys  of  heaven,  and  of  the  privileges  of  a  Chris- 
tian ;  if  we  would  frequently  meditate  on  these,  we 
should  have  these  sealing  days  every  day — at  least 
oftener.  This  hath  need  to  be  much  pressed  upon  us : 
the  neglect  of  this  makes  lean  souls.  He  who  is  fre- 
quent in  that,  hath  these  sealing  days  often.  Couldst 
thou  have  a  parley  with  God  in  private,  and  have 
thy  heart  rejoice  with  the  comforts  of  another  day, 
even  whilst  thou  art  thinking  of  these  things,  Christ 
would  be  in  the  midst  of  thee.  Many  of  the  saints  of 
God  have  but  little  of  this,  because  they  spend  but 
few  hours  in  meditation."* 

*  There  is  another  principle  of  great  importance  which  would 
have  been  noticed  had  the  author's  limits  permitted,  and  which, 
to  prevent  misapprehension,  he  feels  obliged  to  hint  at  in  this 
note. — It  is  that  efforts  (such  as  he  has  described)  to  place  the 
mind  in  an  attitude  favorable  for  apprehending  and  feeling  truth, 
may  all  be  made  without  spiritual  advantage,  unless  they  are  ac- 
companied with  prayer,  with  earnest  desire  for  one's  own  improve- 
ment, and  loith  daily  efforts  to  conform  our  conduct  to  our  con- 


820  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

Here,  then,  is  one  great  advantage  which  a  Sun- 
day-school teacher  derives  from  his  vocation.  It 
obliges  him,  if  he  would  discharge  its  duties  properly, 
to  think ;  to  ruminate  much  on  the  great  essential 
truths  of  the  Gospel ;  to  gain  such  views  as  are  best 
fitted  to  captivate  the  affections  and  to  move  the  will. 
And  not  only  when  preparing  for  these  duties  before- 
hand, but  also  when  communing  eye  to  eye  and  heart 
to  heart  with  his  pupils ;  hearing  their  artless  but 
searching  questions  ;  questions  often  so  fresh  and 
original,  and  tasking  his  powers  of  thought  and  im- 
agination, that  he  may  be  able  to  give  an  edifying 
answer ;  how  propitious  is  such  employment  to  his 
own  soul's  best  welfare.  How  many  a  teacher  (could 
we  collect  the  experience  of  that  great  multitude  who 
have  been  employed  in  this  way)  would  bear  witness 
that  it  was  while  conferring  with  little  children  about 
the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  that  he  first 
caught  his  most  glorious  views  of  the  spiritual  world, 
and  felt  most  deeply  the  wisdom  and  the  power  that 
there  is  in  the  doctrine  of  Christ  and  him  crucified. 

victions.  The  neglect  of  the  last  of  these  three  conditions  is 
lamentably  prevalent ;  and  to  this  neglect  may  be  ascribed  much 
of  the  inefficacy  of  preaching  and  of  other  means  of  grace.  There 
are  two  processes  by  which  truth  may  be  made  to  affect  the  sen- 
sibilities. The  one  genuine,  the  other  spurious.  In  the  one 
case,  conscience  and  the  active  powers  concur  with  the  concep- 
tions of  the  intellect  and  the  imagination.  In  the  other,  con- 
science is  dormant ;  the  active  powers  are  not  enlisted  on  the 
side  of  duty  ;  and  the  effect  of  truth  on  the  sensibilities  is  simply 
dt^amatic.  It  is  believed  that  this  distinction  will  explain  much 
of  the  fruitlessness  of  what  is  called  fine  preaching,  and  will  ac- 
count also  for  the  fact  that  the  most  vivid  and  fearful  pictures  of 
truth  are  often  relished  by  those  on  whom  they  seem  to  exert  no 
salutary  practical  influence. 


USES   OF   THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL.  321 

I  did  intend  to  dwell  at  some  length  on  the  henig- 
nant  influence  which  Sunday-schools  exert  on  children^ 
and  through  them  on  the  families  to  which  they  be- 
long, and  through  these  families  again  on  the  world 
without.  As  a  means  of  leavening  the  world,  which 
still  lieth  in  wickedness,  with  Gospel  truth  in  its  sim- 
plicity and  power — as  a  means  of  doing  this  rapidly, 
silently,  eifectively,  no  missionary  organization  is  more 
powerful  than  the  Sunday-school.  Passing  these 
topics,  however,  for  want  of  time,  I  would,  in  closing 
this  letter,  remind  you  very  briefly  of  what,  as  mem- 
bers of  the  community/,  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and 
of  the  great  human  family,  you  owe  to  Sunday- 
schools,  and'especially  to  the  schools  within  your  re- 
spective parishes. 

As  members  of  the  community,  you  must  desire  to 
witness  its  growing  prosperity.  You  must  desire  to 
see  its  career,  so  long  and  so  signally  upward,  receive 
new  impulse,  and  this  land  of  your  afi*ections  rising  to 
a  yet  nobler  eminence.  Neglect,  then,  no  institution 
which  proposes  to  train  up  the  young  in  the  way  that 
they  should  go.  In  every  such  group  as  that  which 
we  collect  in  our  Sunday-schools,  you  see  the  future 
fathers  and  mothers,  the  future  mechanics,  tradesmen, 
and  merchants  of  our  country.  From  these  schools, 
and  from  among  the  poorest  and  most  unfriended, 
perhaps  of  their  pupils,  are  to  arise  minds  that  must 
wield  a  commanding  sway  over  the  public  interests. 
Would  you  render  that  sway  as  benignant  as  it  must  be 
powerful ;  would  you  fill  your  workshops,  stores,  and 
professions  with  a  provident,  industrious,  and  enter- 
prising population ;  would  you  dry  up  many  of  the 


822  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

sources  of  domestic  sorrow,  of  pauperism  and  crime, 
and  have  health,  competence,  and  virtue  smile  along 
your  streets  and  in  every  habitation — withhold  not 
aid  from  the  Sunday-school.  Its  lessons  comprise 
the  germs  of  intelligence,  and  of  the  highest  moral 
power ;  and  from  those  germs,  properly  cherished, 
must  spring  alike  private  prosperity  and  public  great- 
ness. Experience  testifies  that  few  youths  leave  these 
sacred  retreats  to  become  outcasts  or  criminals  ;  and 
were  they  imbued  with  a  holier  influence,  could 
teachers,  parents,  and  congregations  appreciate  more 
justly  the  still  mightier  power  which  they  can  be  made 
to  exert  for  good,  it  would  soon  be  seen  that  in  schools, 
and  especially  in  Sunday-schools,  the  people  of  this 
land  are  to  find,  next  to  churches,  their  surest  and 
most  impregnable  safeguard. 

Again. — As  members  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  you 
ought  to  look  with  lively  interest  on  Sunday-schools. 
They  are  training  up  those  who  are  to  succeed  you 
in  maintaining  sacred  services,  who  are  to  occupy  the 
seats  you  now  occupy,  and  gaze  on  the  memorials  of 
a  Saviour's  love  long  after  you  will  have  been  called 
to  sleep  with  our  fathers.  My  friends,  would  you  not 
have  the*  glory  which  now  fills,  which  perhaps  has 
long  filled,  the  houses  in  which  you  worship,  making 
them  a  praise  and  ornament  among  the  churches  of 
the  land  ;  would  you  not  have  that  glory  depart,  fail 
not  to  cherish  the  lambs  of  the  fold.  The  future  cha- 
racter and  condition  of  your  parish  will  depend  much 
on  them  ;  and  what  they  shall  be  will  depend  much 
on  the  condition  of  the  Sunday-school  in  which  they 
are  nurtured. 

As  you  desire,  then,  that  the  hallowed  spot  to- 


USES   OF  THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL.  323 

wards  which  you  bend  your  way  so  often  and  so 
gladly,  shall  continue  long  after  you  have  left  it,  to 
be  thronged  by  a  devout  and  attentive  congregation ; 
as  you  would  that  it  should  attract  worshippers  from 
the  wide  world  without,  and  especially  from  the  abodes 
of  poverty  and  ignorance,  as  you  would  that  multi- 
tudes shall  continue  to  go  up  thither  to  exchange  the 
spirit  of  heaviness  for  the  garments  of  praise,  and  the 
maladies  of  sin  for  the  beauty  of  holiness;  cherish 
your  Sunday-schools.  No  small  proportion  of  its 
pupils  are  gathered  from  beyond  the  pale  of  the  ordi- 
nary congregation.  They  are  thus  brought  into  con- 
tact with  our  services,  they  are  thus  taught  early  to 
hallow  the  Lord's  day.  Fond  and  enduring  associa- 
tions are  created  with  the  house  of  prayer  ;  they  are 
rescued,  in  some  degree,  from  idleness  and  guilt,  and 
early  profligacy ;  and  there,  if  properly  trained  and 
cared  for,  they  shall  become,  we  trust,  one  day  worthy 
partakers  of  Christ's  ordinances. 

Finally. — These  schools  appeal  to  you  as  Christian 
philanthropists,  as  members  of  the  great  family  of 
man.  Within  such  schools,  at  least,  early  and  holy 
lessons  are  imprinted  on  pliant  and  yet  unoccupied 
hearts.  Even  lisping  infants  are  taught  to  sing  "  Ho- 
sannas  to  the  Son  of  David."  Parents  may  neglect, 
the  world  may  endeavor  to  mislead  by  its  maxims,  or 
to  contaminate  by  its  example  ;  but  here  shall  the 
young  immortal  hear  the  "words  of  life,"  and  hear- 
ing, its  soul,  we  trust,  may  live.  There  are  instances, 
not  a  few,  and  they  alone  would  repay,  and  more 
than  repay,  all  the  toil,  solicitude,  and  expense,  that 
these  schools  can  occasion;  there  are  instances  in 
which  their  unobtrusive  labors  have  been  made,  by  a 


324  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

gracious  God,  the  honored  instruments  of  rescuing 
even  parents  from  error  and  sin,  and  of  fitting  youth- 
ful hearts  for  a  glorious  exchange  of  worlds.  Nor  is 
it  strange.  The  young  mind  is  susceptible — from  the 
lips  of  its  Sunday-school  teacher,  truth,  new  and 
transporting,  may  dawn  upon  it.  For  the  first  time, 
perhaps,  it  sees  with  the  eye  of  faith  the  Lamb  of 
God.  It  hastens  with  the  joyful  intelligence  to  a 
loved  father,  mother,  brother,  sister,  friend.  It  pours 
it  into  their  ear  in  touching  strains,  and  at  some 
happy  moment,  when  passion  is  mute  and  prejudice 
at  rest,  and  reason  enthroned,  the  words  are  as  nails 
fastened  hy  the  master  of  assemblies ;  and  a  parent, 
perhaps  a  whole  household,  is  brought  out  of  darkness 
into  the  light  of  God's  saving  truth.  Or  books  are 
carried  from  the  Sunday-school  library,  in  which  a 
Saviour's  love  is  unfolded  in  simple,  yet  just  and 
thrilling  style  ;  and  minds  not  equal  to  the  didactic 
discourses  of  the  pulpit,  which  would  sit  here  in  list- 
less vacancy,  are  arrested,  instructed,  renewed.  Or 
it  may  be  that  sickness  comes,  and  death  lays  upon 
our  docile  and  thoughtful  little  pupil  its  unrelenting 
grasp,  and  an  agonized  father  or  mother,  still  im- 
penitent, still  unconcerned,  draws  near  with  bursting 
heart,  to  gaze  upon  the  cherished  child,  and  drink  in 
its  last  words,  and  catch  its  never-to-be-forgotten 
look — and  then,  as  if  with  a  voice  from  another  world, 
she  pleads,  she  remonstrates,  she  shows  by  example 
the  power  of  a  Saviour's  grace,  and  seems  to  linger, 
unwilling  to  let  go  her  hold  on  life  while  those  dearer 
than  life  are  still  without  God ;  and  ivhen  at  length 
their  stubborn  wills  give  way,  and  humbling  them- 
selves before  God,  they  own  the  riches  of  redeeming 


USES   OF  THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL.  325 

love,  she  is  then  released  to  rejoice  with  angels  over 
their  repentance. 

Such  scenes,  brethren,  are  not  uncommon  where 
Sunday-schools  watch  over  their  charge  with  the 
proper  assiduity  of  faith  and  prayer.  Need  I  say 
more  to  enforce  their  claims — their  claims  on  all  who 
profess  and  call  themselves  Christians.  All  can  do 
something.  From  time  to  time  every  Christian  can 
be  present  at  the  exercises  of  some  school,  and  thus 
gain  an  interest  in  its  concerns,  while  he  contributes 
to  animate  both  pupils  and  instructors  in  their  work. 
Each  one  can  aid  in  finding  indigent  or  neglected 
children,  and  introducing  them  to  the  notice  and  af- 
fections of  a  teacher.  Each  one  can  make  himself 
acquainted  with  the  wants  of  the  school,  in  regard  to 
books  and  proper  teachers,  and  can  offer,  or  prepare 
to  offer  himself  for  any  trust  compatible  with  other 
and  higher  duties.  And  doing  so,  cultivating  by 
such  means  a  lively  concern  for  the  spiritual  welfare 
of  others,  is  it  likely  that  his  own  heart  will  be  left  a 
waste.  To  the  frivolous  or  indolent,  whether  they  be 
teachers  or  visitors  of  Sunday-schools,  we  can  pro- 
mise no  blessing,  for  they  confer  none.  But  to  those 
who  humbly  and  sincerely  endeavor  to  make  them- 
selves a  blessing,  who  mingle  in  such  labors  of  love 
with  anything  of  the  right  spirit — may  we  not  say, 
that  watering  others,  they  shall  not  themselves  be  left 
unwatered.  The  ground  on  which  they  tread  is  holy. 
Immortal  interests  are  pending,  high  truths  are  un- 
folded, glorious  prospects  beam  upon  the  upward  eye, 
the  very  atmosphere  is  redolent  of  heaven,  and  they 
that  breathe  it  aright  shall  feel  ere  long  the  beatings 
of  a  new  and  nobler  life. 

28 


826  DISCOURSES   AND    CHARGES. 

That  such  may  be  indeed  the  case,  that  those  who 
labor  in  these  nurseries  of  our  parishes  and  of  souls, 
may  not  be  left  unblessed, — that  faithful,  intelligent, 
enthusiastic,  teachers  may  never  be  wanting,  that 
earnest  prayers  may  go  up  for  the  best  benediction 
of  heaven  on  their  labors,  and  that  liberal  hands  may 
always  be  open  to  provide  for  every  pecuniary  want 
of  our  schools,  may  a  God  of  grace  and  mercy  grant. 

I  am,  dear  brethren, 

Faithfully  and  affectionately  yours, 

A.  Potter. 


SPREADING  THE  GOSPEL. 


PASTORAL  LETTER  * 


TO  THE  CLERGY  AND  LAITY  OF  THE  PROTESTANT  EPIS- 
COPAL CHURCH  IN  PENNSYLVANIA  : 

Dear  Brethren, — When  your  Bishop  was  charged 
"with  the  oversight  of  this  Diocese,  he  placed  himself 
under  obligations  the  most  solemn,  to  withhold  from 
the  people  of  his  charge  no  lessons  of  instruction, 
which,  being  clearly  founded  on  the  word  of  God,  he 
might  judge  to  be  specially  needed.  Many  of  these 
lessons  he  can  dispense  from  the  pulpit,  during  his 
ordinary  visitations ;  but  there  are  others  which  he 
can  disseminate  only  through  the  press,  and  hence, 
"it  is  deemed  proper  (according  to  Canon  XXVII,  of 
1832,  of  the  General  Convention)  that  every  Bishop 
shall,  from  time  to  time,  address  to  the  people  of  his 
Diocese,  Pastoral  Letters  on  some  points  of  Christian 
doctrine,  worship,  or  manners." 

The  point  to  which  I  would  call  your  attention  at 
this  time,  is  that  branch  of  Christian  Charity,  which 
consists  in  giving  a  portion  of  our  property  and  active 
influence  to  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  and  its  institu- 

*  Issued,  January,  1851. 
28* 


330  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

tions  over  our  own  country,  and  in  benighted  foreign 
lands.  It  is  a  point  which  belongs  at  once  to  doctrine, 
to  worship,  and  to  manners.  The  principle  that  our 
Saviour's  last  command  to  his  Apostles  to  go  into  all 
the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature, 
binds  their  successors  and  his  Church  through  all 
time,  and  that  obedience  to  it  is  the  only  effectual 
means  for  extending  Christianity  over  the  world ;  this 
principle  may  now  be  regarded  as  a  settled  point  of 
doctrine,  both  in  our  mother  Church  of  England  and 
in  our  own.  In  conformity  with  it,  we  offer  continual 
prayers  to  God  "  that  His  ways  may  be  known  upon 
earth,  His  saving  health  among  all  nations  ;"  thus 
recognizing  the  duty  of  praying  continually,  both 
together  and  in  private,  for  the  coming  of  Christ's 
kingdom.  By  a  solemn  act,  too,  of  the  highest  council 
of  our  Church,  she  has  enrolled  every  one  of  her 
baptized  members  as  an  integral  part  of  her  missionary 
army.  Experience  shows  that  where  this  missionary 
doctrine  is  faithfully  preached,  these  missionary 
prayers  faithfully  offered,  and  missionary  contribu- 
tions liberally  made,  there  the  Christian  graces  and 
virtues  flourish,  and  there  that  promise  is  fulfilled 
which  assures  us  that  they  who  labor  to  support  the 
weak,  shall  find  in  their  own  experience,  that  "  it  is 
more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." 

The  extension  of  the  Gospel  and  of  the  Church 
requires  that  missionaries  should  be  trained  for  their 
work  and  sent  forth  at  the  expense  of  those  who  enjoy 
the  stated  ministrations  of  the  sanctuary.  It  requires 
that  Bibles,  Prayer-Books,  and  Religious  Tracts 
should  be  distributed  ;  that  Sunday  and  day-schools 
should  be  provided  for  the  religious  education  of  the 


SYSTExMATIC   LIBERALITY.  331 

young,  and  that  contributiona  should  be  made  to  erect 
churclies  for  those  who  are  too  poor  or  too  indifferent 
to  perform  that  work  for  themselves.  Through  such 
means,  was  the  religion  of  Christ  first  planted  on  our 
shores ;  through  such  means  alone  has  it  been  effectu- 
ally planted  elsewhere,  and  they  are  means,  to  the 
strenuous  use  of  which  we  are  more  than  ever  urged 
at  this  time  and  in  this  land.  The  increased  facilities 
of  communication  between  those  who  dwell  remote 
from  each  other,  and  the  greater  need  there  is  in  our 
busy  and  excited  age  of  the  controlling  and  enlighten- 
ing influences  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  call  loudly 
both  to  effort  and  to  more  fervent  and  frequent  prayer 
for  the  conversion  of  the  world. 

There  are  two  principal  fields  for  the  exercise  of 
this  benevolent  activity.  The  one  lying  within  our 
own  Diocese,  and  the  other  beyond  its  boundaries, 
both  in  this  country  and  in  other  parts  of  the  world. 
The  Board  of  Domestic  and  Foreign  Missions  takes 
charge  of  the  latter,  while  to  the  Diocese  is  left  the 
work  of  providing  for  the  extension,  within  its  own 
limits,  of  the  faith  and  order  of  our  Church.  I  pro- 
pose to  ask  your  attention  to  both,  and  to  accompany 
you  in  the  inquiry  whether  our  present  exertions  are 
proportioned  to  our  duty  and  ability,  or  are  such  as 
may  be  expected  to  bring  down  upon  us  the  blessings 
of  Providence  or  the  special  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

I  cannot  enter  on  this  inquiry  without  expressing 
my  devout  gratitude  to  God  for  instances  of  generous 
munificence,  both  in  individuals  and  in  congregations, 
which  have  not  been  uncommon  among  us  during  the 
last  few  years.  The  large  sums  which  have  been  contri- 


3B2  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

buted  towards  the  erection  of  new  churches,  especially 
at  missionary  posts,  and  the  noble  efforts  which  are 
making  throughout  the  Diocese,  to  liquidate  all  debts 
on  church  property,  afford  occasion,  with  other  kindred 
facts,  for  sincere  thankfulness.  But  the  great  ques- 
tion, which  it  becomes  me  as  your  Bishop  to  present, — 
and  which  it  becomes  you  as  a  Christian  people  to 
consider,  is  this — Are  we,  as  a  Diocese,  coming  up,  in 
any  good  degree,  to  the  legitimate  claims  of  our  duty  ? 
Our  numbers  are  increasing ;  our  wealth  increases 
still  more  rapidly.  We  are  expending  freely  of  our 
substance  on  the  enjoyments  of  the  world.  Its  arts, 
its  luxuries,  its  questionable  usages  and  its  still  more 
questionable  amusements,  levy  every  year  enormous 
contributions  upon  our  property.  Is  a  corresponding 
part  of  that  property  held  sacred  for  God  and  his 
poor  ?  To  enable  us  to  answer  this  question — a  ques- 
tion that  ought,  as  it  seems  to  me,  to  claim  the  serious 
consideration  of  every  worshipper  in  our  congrega- 
tions, whether  he  be  a  communicant  or  not — of  all, 
in  short,  who  value  their  own  spiritual  welfare  or  the 
credit  and  prosperity  of  the  Church  in  this  Diocese 
— to  enable  us  to  answer  this  question  let  us  give  at- 
tention to  the  following  facts. 

The  Board  of  Domestic  and  Foreign  Missions  is, 
as  I  have  said,  the  authorized  agent  of  our  Church  for 
spreading  the  Gospel  through  all  the  destitute  parts  of 
our  own  land,  and  also  for  propagating  it  in  foreign 
parts.  In  both  departments,  the  openings  for  useful- 
ness are  enlarging  rapidly  and  are  full  of  encourage- 
ment. On  the  western  coast  of  our  own  continent, 
in  our  newly  settled  States,  in  China,  in  Africa,  the 
cry  for   help  becomes  louder  and  louder,  and  the 


SYSTEMATIC   LIBERALITY.  333 

promise  of  an  early  and  extensive  harvest  is  most 
animating.  At  such  a  time,  is  it  no  just  ground  for 
humiliation  that  out  of  one  hundred  and  forty-five 
congregations  in  this  Diocese,  more  than  one-third 
made  no  contribution  at  all  to  either  department — 
more  than  two-thirds  made  no  offering  to  the  Foreign, 
and  considerably  less  than  one-half  gave  aid  to  the 
Domestic,  Department.  The  whole  amount  contri- 
buted from  the  Diocese  was  in  the  proportion  of  not 
more  than  eight  cents  to  each  worshipper. 

I  regret  to  state  that  in  respect  to  Diocesan  Mis- 
sions the  results  have  not  been  materially  different. 
These  Missions  within  our  own  limits,  have  a  double 
claim  upon  us,  since  they  can  be  sustained  only 
through  our  own  exertions.  In  the  general  field  we 
have  the  co-operation  of  our  brethren  throughout  the 
United  States,  and  we  mi^ht  hope  that  our  lack  of 
service  would  be  supplied  to  some  extent,  through  the 
more  abounding  liberality  of  others  ;  but  here,  where 
there  are  fields  fast  whitening  for  the  harvest,  com- 
mitted exclusively  to  our  charge — where  many,  pro- 
fessing allegiance  to  our  Church,  are  coming  as 
strangers  from  our  fatherland  to  find  bread  for  them- 
selves and  a  home  for  their  children — where  towns 
are  fast  springing  up  on  one  hand,  and  extensive  dis- 
tricts are  spread  out  on  the  other,  over  which  members 
of  our  flock  are  sparsely  settled — here,  where  at  this 
time  the  missionaries  that  we  have  are  in  many  in- 
stances most  inadequately  paid,  and  twenty-five  addi- 
tional ones  are  greatly  needed, — I  grieve  to  say,  that 
the  whole  sum  contributed  in  every  form  to  Diocesan 
Missions,  during  the  last  year,  is  less  than  even  the 
small  sum  that  was  paid  to  Missions  without  the  Dio- 


334  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

cese.  It  does  not  appear  from  the  last  Journal  of  our 
Convention,  that  more  than  seventy-eight  out  of  one 
hundred  and  forty-five  congregations  contributed  in 
any  way  to  this  department. 

But  besides  the  strictly  Missionary  operations  of 
the  Diocese,  there  are  others  which  are  most  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  growth  and  extension  of 
our  faith.  I  allude  to  the  Convention  Fund,  the 
Episcopal  Fund,  the  Fund  for  Disabled  Clergymen, 
the  Clergy  Daughter's  Fund,  and  Societies  for  the 
distribution  of  Bibles,  Prayer-Books,  Tracts,  and 
Theological  works  for  the  use  of  the  clergy.  It  ap- 
pears from  the  Journal,  that  during  the  year  preced- 
ing our  last  Diocesan  Convention,  but  seventy-nine 
parishes  made  any  contribution  to  the  Convention 
Fund,  and  that  the  contributions,  being  in  many  in- 
stances small,  were  whollj|  inadequate  to  the  demands 
which  are  justly  chargeable  against  that  fund.  The 
contributions  to  the  Episcopal  Fund,  of  which,  as  they 
have  no  effect  upon  the  income  of  your  present  bishop, 
and  as  he  is  actuated  only  by  a  desire  to  see  his  suc- 
cessors placed  in  a  condition  of  moderate  and  frugal 
independence,  and  to  have  his  Diocese  do  justice  to 
itself — he  will  not  hesitate  to  speak — to  this  fund 
contributions  were  made  by  but  forty  parishes  out  of 
one  hundred  and  forty-five. 

Brethren,  ought  these  things  so  to  be  ?  Is  it  not 
evident,  that  for  want  of  systematic  effort  and  true 
Christian  zeal,  we  fall  greatly  short  of  what  we  might 
easily  accomplish  ?  Does  not  such  a  state  of  things 
call  for  much  plainness  of  speech  and  tenderness  of 
expostulation  on  the  part  of  the  clergy  ?  for  most 
serious  consideration  and  renewed  effort  on  the  part 


SYSTEMATIC   LIBERALITY.  835 

of  the  people  ?  There  may  be  no  great  deficiency 
in  this  Diocese  as  compared  with  others.  But  it  be- 
comes us  to  remember,  that  our  standard  of  perform- 
ance should  be  derived  from  a  higher  than  any  human 
source,  and  that  instead  of  being  satisfied  to  reach  a 
point,  which  is  everywhere  mourned  over  as  lament- 
ably low,  it  should  be  our  generous  ambition  to  furnish 
an  inspiring  example  to  others,  and  to  lead  the  way 
to  a  prevailing  liberality  and  zeal  among  all  our  Dio- 
ceses. Could  it  only  be  said  of  Pennsylvania,  "  She 
hath  done  what  she  could,"  a  new  impulse  would  be 
given  to  every  department  of  the  charitable  opera- 
tions of  our  branch  of  the  Church.  May  her  great 
Head  stir  up  the  wills  of  his  faithful  people,  that 
they,  constrained  by  that  love  of  Christ — which  is 
the  unfailing  well-spring  of  love  for  souls — may  plen- 
teously  bring  forth  the  fruit  of  good  works,  and  by 
him  be  plenteously  rewarded. 

When  one  considers  the  liberality  with  which  money 
is  expended  by  our  people  on  objects  not  religious,  it 
is  evident  that  they  cannot  justly  be  charged  with 
sordid  avarice.  In  no  country  of  the  world,  perhaps, 
is  property  expended  more  profusely  in  personal 
gratification,  in  obedience  to  conventional  usages, 
and  in  advancing  those  private  and  public  enterprises 
which  are  supposed  to  bear  upon  our  material  and 
political  prosperity.  Our  great  defect,  alas !  is  in  a 
proper  sense  of  the  inexpressible  value  of  a  Christian's 
faith  and  hope  when  compared  with  all  earthly  good, 
and  in  a  due  conviction  of  the  truth,  that  if  the  love 
of  Christ  be  in  us  and  abound,  it  must  needs  make 
us  more  and  more  fruitful  in  every  good  word  and 


836  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

"work.  To  do  good  to  all  men  as  we  have  opportu- 
nity, and  especially  to  them  that  are  of  the  house- 
hold of  faith — to  be  watchful,  too,  that  we  may  find 
these  opportunities  for  ministering  to  the  welfare  of 
others  and  thus  reflecting  honor  on  God,  this  is  a  duty 
which  he  never  neglects  whose  heart  is  warm  with  the 
love  of  Christ. 

How  then  shall  such  defect  be  supplied  ?  And 
how,  especially  where  there  is  a  sincere  love  for  the 
Saviour  and  a  desire  to  do  his  will,  shall  an  interest 
in  this  specific  branch  of  Christian  charity  be  exci- 
ted ?  It  is  hoped  and  believed  that  the  meagre  con- 
tributions, which  the  Episcopalians  of  this  Diocese 
now  make  to  the  treasury  of  their  Lord,  are  not  a 
true  index  to  their  religious  state,  and  that  they  are 
prepared  greatly  to  increase  them,  if  only  the  proper 
method  be  indicated. 

It  has  ever  been  a  subject  of  remark  that  the  chil- 
dren of  this  world  are  in  their  generation  wiser  than 
the  children  of  light.  In  respect  to  the  great  end 
for  which  they  profess  to  live,  the  latter  are  immea- 
surably the  most  considerate.  But  when  they  come 
to  the  use  of  mea7is,  through  which  such  end  is  to  be 
attained,  how  often  are  they  outstripped  in  sagacity, 
in  vigilance,  and  in  untiring  activity  and  perseverance 
by  those  who  labor  for  the  meat  that  perisheth  ! 
Were  Christ's  people  devoted  to  his  service  and  to 
the  spiritual  redemption  of  mankind,  with  but  half 
the  enthusiasm  and  wise  forecast  which  distinguish 
those  who  serve  the  Mammon  of  unrighteousness, 
how  soon  would  His  word  grow  and  increase  mightily 
and  prevail  throughout  our  world  ! 


SYSTEMATIC   LIBERALITY.  SOT 

Let  this  thought  be  applied  then  to  the  subject  we 
are  now  considering.  When  the  men  of  this  world 
would  rouse  in  their  own  minds  and  in  the  minds  of 
others,  a  deep  and  abiding  interest  in  any  subject, 
they  meditate  upon  it,  they  read  about  it,  they  make 
it  a  topic  of  frequent  discourse  and  discussion,  they 
advertise  it  through  the  press,  and  by  every  means 
calculated  to  spread  knowledge  and  excite  attention, 
they  appeal  to  the  contagious  influence  of  sympathy. 
They  thus  secure  that  their  own  convictions  and  feel- 
ings shall  be  multiplied  through  others,  and  that  a 
fresh  impulse  shall  constantly  be  sent  back  to  their 
own  hearts  from  without.  And  they  do  well.  Through 
such  means  alone,  can  minds  naturally  torpid  be 
awakened  to  the  claims  of  a  neglected  truth  or  duty ; 
thus  only  can  that  inherent  moral  inertia  of  our  na- 
ture be  overcome,  which  disinclines  us  to  all  stern  ef- 
forts of  the  will,  and  especially  to  all  generous  post- 
ponement of  our  own  comfort  to  that  of  others.  But 
if  this  be  needful,  when  we  deal  with  earthly  things, 
it  must  be  still  more  needful  when  we  come  to  deal 
with  those  which  are  heavenly.  We  have  to  encoun- 
ter, then,  beside  the  inherent  weakness  of  our  nature, 
a  positive  repugnance  of  our  sinful  hearts,  and  though 
this  can  be  overcome  only  through  the  grace  of  God, 
it  is  by  human  instrumentality,  judiciously  chosen 
and  vigorously  applied,  that  such  grace  is  usually  dis- 
pensed. What  we  need  then  on  the  one  hand,  is  more 
earnest  and  frequent  prayer  for  the  demonstration  of 
the  Divine  Spirit,  and  on  the  other,  a  more  diligent 
use  of  all  such  means  as  that  Spirit  is  accustomed  to 
honor  and  appropriate,  when  he  would  carry  blessing 
and  salvation  to  the  souls  of  men. 

29 


338  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

I  therefore  affectionately  and  earnestly  recommend 
to  the  members  of  the  Church  in  this  diocese,  more 
reading,  more  reflection,  and  more  prayer  on  the  sub- 
ject of  propagating  the  Gospel.  To  the  clergy  I  re- 
commend that  they  clearly  and  frequently  set  before 
their  people  the  obligation  which  rests  on  Christians 
to  devote  a  larger  portion  of  their  substance  to  their 
Master's  service,  and  to  the  instruction  of  those  who 
are  perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge.  I  recommend 
that  the  greater  blessedness,  which  awaits  those  who 
give  liberally  and  cheerfully,  as  compared  with  those 
who  only  receive,  be  dwelt  upon ;  that  the  claims  of 
the  several  fields  of  missionary  effort,  and  the  several 
objects  recommended  to  our  charitable  consideration 
by  the  authority  of  the  Church,  be  distinctly  ex- 
plained from  time  to  time,  and  that  the  vain  excuses 
preferred  for  not  giving  at  all,  or  for  giving  only  in 
stinted  measure,  be  fully  considered  and  exposed.  I 
recommend  that  this  duty  be  omitted  in  no  congre- 
gation, however  small  its  numbers  or  limited  its  re- 
sources ;  and  that  opportunity  of  contributing  statedly 
to  every  principal  charity  be  afforded  in  each  parish. 
God  requires  that  we  give  according  as  he  has  blessed 
us  in  our  basket  and  store.  As  they  who  have  much 
should  give  plenteously,  so  they  who  have  little 
should  do  their  diligence  to  give  of  that  little.  Few 
who  worship  in  our  churches  can  be  more  exposed  to 
penury  than  was  that  poor  widow,  who,  by  casting 
her  last  mite  into  the  treasury  of  the  Temple,  won 
such  memorable  commendation  from  our  Lord.  Few 
more  destitute  than  she  who,  ministeHng  out  of  her 
poverty  to  the  wants  of  a  famishing  prophet,  found 
that  through  the  goodness  of  her  covenant-keeping 


SYSTEMATIC   LIBERALITY.  839 

God  her  barrel  of  meal  did  not  waste,  nor  her  cruse 
of  oil  fail.  They  who  give  of  their  penury  have  an 
assurance  which  the  affluent  can  rarely  enjoy,  that 
theirs  are  really  sacrifices  for  Christ,  and  that  the 
mind  which  was  in  Him  is  in  them  also.  And  before 
any  plead  that  they  are  too  poor  to  give,  let  them 
consider  if  there  be  no  superfluous  wants  which  they 
gratify — no  idle  moments  or  hours  which  they  might 
employ  usefully  for  the  benefit  of  the  needy — no  true 
self-denial  which  they  might  practise,  and  thus  win 
the  glory  of  a  nearer  fellowship  with  Him  whose  life 
was  one  perpetual  crucifixion  of  his  natural  desires, 
and  who,  though  he  was  rich,  yet,  for  our  sakes  be- 
came poor,  that  we,  through  his  poverty,  might  be 
rich. 

Brethren,  the  time  is  short.  The  hour  is  at  hand 
when  there  will  no  longer  be  opportunity  to  testify 
our  fear  of  God  or  our  love  for  Christ  by  ministering 
to  the  necessities  of  the  spiritually  destitute.  The 
time  is  coming,  and  may  be  nigh,  even  at  the  door, 
when  the  remembrance  of  the  humblest  contribution 
made  in  faith  and  love  will  be  more  prized  than  the 
sweetest  incense  of  flattery  or  the  loudest  acclama- 
tions of  the  world's  applause.  To  do  good  then  and 
to  distribute  forget  not,  for  with  such  sacrifices  God 
is  well  pleased.  Let  every  man  do  according  as  he 
is  disposed  in  his  heart ;  not  grudgingly  or  of  neces- 
sity, for  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver.  Even  Pagans 
could  devote  one-tenth  of  their  income  to  the  service 
of  idols.  Even  Jews  can  give  now,  in  their  dispersion 
and  sore  trials,  two-tenths  of  their  earnings  to  the 
cause  of  charity  and  religion.  When  wandering  in 
the  desert,  the  same  people  won  of  old  this  testimony. 


340  DISCOURSES  AND   CHARGES. 

"  The  people  bringeth  much  more  than  enough  for 
the  service  of  the  work  which  the  Lord  commanded  to 
make."  And  Moses  gave  commandment,  saying, 
"  Let  neither  man  nor  woman  make  any  more  work 
for  the  offering  of  the  sanctuary."  When  shall  Chris- 
tians earn  a  like  commendation  from  Him  who  hath 
loved  them  and  given  himself  for  them  ?  When  shall 
Christians  remember  that  in  giving  to  the  poor  they 
are  lending  to  a  faithful  Creator  and  Saviour,  and 
that  that  which  they  have  given  will  be  paid  them 
again  ?  He  that  soweth  little  shall  reap  little,  and 
he  that  soweth  plenteously  shall  reap  plenteously. 

I  recommend  then,  that  each  of  the  three  branches 
of  missions,  viz.  :  Diocesan,  Domestic,  and  Foreign, 
be  presented  at  a  stated  time  or  times  each  year,  for 
the  distinct  consideration  of  each  congregation,  and 
that  contributions  to  the  same  be  invited. 

I  recommend  that,  in  like  manner,  the  importance 
of  aid  in  building  churches  for  the  destitute  be  set 
forth  once  at  least  in  each  year,  and  that  offerings  to 
be  appropriated  to  church-building  be  asked. 

I  recommend  also,  that  the  duty  of  aiding  in  a 
larger  circulation  of  Bibles,  and  Prayer-Books,  and 
religions  Tracts,  be  also  commended  annually  to  the 
notice  and  liberality  of  each  congregation  in  the 
Diocese. 

I  recommend  finally,  that  the  claims  of  the  Con- 
vention Fund,  of  the  Episcopal  Fund,  and  the  Fund 
for  Disabled  Clergymen  be  explained  from  time  to 


SYSTEMATIC   LIBERALITY.  341 

time,  and  that  the  collections  in  their  behalf,  enjoined 
by  the  Revised  Regulations  of  the  Diocese  or  by 
Resolutions  of  the  Convention,  be  annually  made.* 

'^  *FROM  REVISED  REGULATIONS. 

IV. 

Of  the  Contributions  for  defraying  the  expenses  incurred  or 
authorized  hy  the  Convention. 

It  is  enjoined  on  every  settled  clergyman  within  the  Diocese 
to  have  a  collection  made  in  his  church  in  each  year,  in  aid  of 
the  Convention  Fund;  at  which  time,  a  statement  shall  be  made, 
explaining  the  objects  to  which  the  Fund  shall  be  applied.  The 
names  of  the  clergy  shall  be  called  over  at  each  Convention,  for 
the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  such  collections  have  been 
made  in  their  respective  churches  ;  and  mileage  shall  not  be 
allowed  to  any  clergyman  attending  the  Convention  unless  a 
collection  for  said  purpose  has  been  made  in  his  church,  since 
the  preceding  Convention. 

The  money  so  collected  shall  be  applied  to  the  payment  of 
expenses  incurred  or  authorized  by  the  Convention. 

The  fourth  Revised  Regulation,  adopted  in  1829,  entitled, 
"  Contributions  for  defraying  the  Expenses  incurred  or  autho- 
rized by  the  Convention,^  is  rescinded. 

VI. 

Of  the  Fund  for  the  Support  of  the  Episcopate, 

1.  It  is  recommended  to  every  settled  clergyman,  once  in 
every  year,  to  preach  a  sermon  on  the  Episcopal  OfHce,  or  on 
the  Apostolic  Succession,  or  on  such  other  subject  as  to  him 
shall  seem  best  adapted  to  recommend  this  Fund  to  support 
and  patronage. 

2.  On  every  such  occasion,  a  contribution  shall  be  received, 
for  the  sole  and  express  purpose  of  making  provision  for  the 
support  of  the  Episcopate. 

3.  The  money  so  collected  shall  be  forwarded  to  the  Treasurer 

29* 


342  DISCOURSES   AND    CHARGES. 

In  what  manner,  and  at  what  times,  congregations 
shall  present  their  offerings  to  these  several  objects, 
after  appeals  in  their  behalf  have  been  made  by  the 
clergy — whether  openly  in  the  church  or  through 
collectors  acting  on  behalf  of  the  minister  or  as  agents 
of  a  parochial  Missionary  Association  —  these  are 
questions  which  may  with  great  propriety  be  referred 
to  the  authorities  in  each  parish.  Whatever  method 
will  most  effectually  reach  the  greatest  number  of 
persons,  and  induce  on  their  part  an  active  co-opera- 
tion in  measures  calculated  to  awaken  interest  and 
diffuse  information  among  others,  is  evidently  that 
which  ought  to  be  adopted  and  steadily  maintained. 
It  is  believed  that  while  public  contributions  in  the 
church  may  be  preferred  by  many  as  the  best  mode 
of  collecting  the  gifts  of  the  people,  Parochial  Asso- 
ciations can  also  materially  aid  the  clergy  in  en- 
larging the  number  of  contributors*  and  in  gathering 
up  offerings  that  would  otherwise  be  lost. 

It  is  important,  however,  to  remember  that  what- 
ever disposition  be  made  of  such  questions,  the  duty 
of  frequently  presenting  the  subject  in  its  various 
phases  to  the  people,  remains  th^  same.  It  seems 
important,  also,  that  there  should  be  stated  times  in 
each  year  when  the  several  objects  can  pass  under 
review,  and  opportunities  for  contributing  to  them  be 
afforded.  And  it  w^ould  doubtless  add  much  to  the 
interest  of  these  occasions,  if,  on  the  same  day  or 

of  the  Fund,  who  shall  keep  account  of  all  moneys  received,  and 
report  at  every  stated  Convention. 

4.  The  income  of  the  said  Fund  shall  be  exclusively  appropri- 
ated for  the  use  of  the  Bishop  who  shall  have  the  City  of  Phila- 
delphia within  his  Diocese. 


SYSTEMATIC   LIBERALITY.  .  3tI3 

days  in  each  year,  the  same  objects  were  presented 
to  the  consideration  of  all  the  congregations  through- 
out the  Diocese.  We  commemorate  simultaneously 
the  principal  events  in  our  Saviour's  life.  We  make 
simultaneously  the  same  offerings  of  praise  and  prayer. 
We  read  simultaneously  in  all  the  churches,  the  same 
portions  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament.  Why  not 
extend  this  principle  to  the  leading  charities  of  the 
Diocese  ?  Would  it  not  stir  up  our  hearts  as  minis- 
ters to  speak  with  more  force  and  fervor,  and  as 
people  to  hear  with  more  docility  and  care ;  if  we  felt 
that  at  the  same  time,  in  all  our  hundred  and  forty- 
five  congregations,  the  same  specific  branch  of  Chris- 
tian charity  was  the  subject  of  earnest  consideration? 
Would  there  not  be  secured,  by  such  an  arrangement, 
a  degree  of  system  and  uniformity  which  are  now 
confessedly  wanting,  and  would  not  a  healthy  sym- 
pathy and  emulation  be  also  aroused,  which  would 
contribute  to  make  our  offerings  both  larger  and  more 
cheerful ? 

The  plan  now  suggested  is  in  partial  operation 
already.  The  alms  at  the  communion  are  taken  up 
on  the  same  day.  The  offerings  on  Christmas  have, 
for  several  years  past,  been  reserved  for  the  relief  of 
disabled  clergymen  in  the  Diocese.  In  like  manner 
the  season  of  Advent  is  earnestly  recommended  by 
the  Board  of  Missions,  and  by  many  of  our  churches 
is  observed,  as  an  appropriate  time  for  collecting  con- 
tributions to  Domestic  Missions ;  while  with  great 
propriety  the  season  of  Epiphany  has  been  celebrated 
by  gifts  towards  spreading  the  Gospel  among  the 
Gentiles.  Our  collections  for  the  Episcopal  and  Con- 
vention Funds  are  usually  made,  it  is  believed,  within 


344  ]?ISCOURSES  AND    CHARGES. 

a  short  time  before  or  after  the  assembling  of  our 
Diocesan  Convention,  so  that  custom  or  authority  has 
already  introduced,  to  a  certain  extent,  a  plan  which 
I  should  rejoice  to  see  general.  I  suggest,  then,  for 
the  early  and  careful  consideration  of  the  clergy  and 
congregations,  whether  this  principle  of  simultaneous 
charity  cannot  be  adopted  throughout  the  Diocese, 
and  I  recommend  the  following  as  seasons  appropriate 
for  the  several  objects : 

Advent,    .         .  Domestic  Missions. 

Christmas^  .        Disabled  Clergymen. 
Epiphany,         .  Foreign  Missions. 
Quinquagesima,  Diocesan  Missions. 

Easter,  .        Church  Building. 
May,         .         .  Convention  Fund. 

June,   .  .        Episcopal  Fund. 
July,         .         .  Domestic  Missions. 

August,  .        Foreign  Missions. 
September,         .  Bible,  Prayer-books,  and  Tracts. 

October,  .        Diocesan. 

November,  .  Church  Building  or  Bible,  Prayer- 

books,  and  Tracts. 

I  thus  indicate  times  when,  in  my  opinion,  these 
several  subjects  can  be  advantageously  presented  to 
the  notice  of  the  congregations,  and  I  respectfully 
request  the  co-operation  of  my  Reverend  Brethren  of 
the  clergy,  and  of  the  wardens  and  vestries  of  the 
several  Parishes,  in  introducing  a  system  by  which 
the  simultaneous  consideration  of  the  same  charities 
in  the  different  churches  of  the  Diocese  may  be  se- 
cured. I  also  ask  attention  to  the  subjoined  Resolu- 
tions adopted,  the  first  by  the  House  of  Clerical  and 


SYSTEMATIC   LIBERALITY.  345 

Lay  Deputies — the  remainder  by  the  Board  of  Mis- 
sions, at  their  late  triennial  meetings  in  Cincinnati. 

Hesolution  of  the  House  of  Clerical  and  Lay  Deputies^ 
adopted  at  Cincinnati^  October,  1850.  . 

Resolved,  That  the  constantly  enlarging  field  of 
Missionary  work  presented  before  the  Church,  and 
the  clear  indications  of  God's  good- will  towards  the 
work  itself,  can  be  rightly  met  only  by  an  enlarged 
liberality  on  the  part  of  the  Church  generally,  and  a 
spirit  of  greater  self-denial  and  more  single  devoted- 
ness  on  the  part  of  the  various  orders  of  the  ministry. 

Resolutions  of  the  Board  of  3Iissions  adopted  at 
Cincinnati,  October  15th,  1850. 

WTiereas,  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  the  number  of  congre- 
gations is  not  less  than  seventeen  hundred,  and  the 
number  of  Dioceses  twenty-nine,  and  therefore  if  each 
congregation,  the  larger  according  to  their  abundance, 
and  the  smaller  according  to  their  means,  contributed 
forty  dollars — and  if  each  Diocese  contributed,  accord- 
ing to  the  number  of  its  parishes,  on  an  average,  the 
sum  of  two  thousand  one  hundred  dollars,  the  amount 
would  be  above  sixty  thousand  dollars,  therefore — 

Resolved,  That  there  ought  to  be  raised  in  the  en- 
suing year,  for  the  service  of  the  Domestic  Committee 
of  the  Board  of  Missions  of  this  Church,  and  for 
coming  years,  not  less  than  sixty  thousand  dollars. 

Resolved,  That  a  similar  amount  or  more,  should 
be  raised  for  the  service  of  the  Foreign  Department 
of  said  Board. 

Resolved,  That  the  Bishops  of  this  Church  be  ear- 


346  DISCOURSES   AND   CHARGES. 

nestly  requested  to  take  upon  themselves  the  charge, 
in  their  respective  Dioceses,  of  urging  upon  the  flocks 
committed  to  their  care,  by  personal  appeal  or  other- 
wise, to  every  parish  in  the  same,  the  duty  of  sustain- 
ing this  resolution. 

In  concluding  this  Pastoral  Letter,  I  need  only  re- 
mark that  a  Bishop's  responsibility,  touching  such 
matters,  seems  to  be  discharged,  when  he  has  clearly 
indicated  to  the  people  of  his  Diocese  the  line  of 
duty,  and  when,  with  urgent  appeals  to  its  observance, 
he  joins  the  suggestion  of  a  'plan  through  which,  in 
his  judgment,  that  end  may  most  easily  and  most 
effectually  be  attained.  He  is  clothed  with  no  com- 
pulsory power ;  and  he  may  well  rejoice  that  he  is 
not.  The  offerings  of  Christian  charity  are  most  ac- 
ceptable to  God,  and  most  rich  in  blessing  to  those 
who  make  them,  when  they  flow  from  free  and  willing 
hearts.  That  there  are  such  hearts  now  among  us, 
may  well  excite  our  warmest  gratitude;  and  that 
many  more  may  find  their  fountains  of  sympathy  and 
liberality  opened  through  the  faithful  appeals  of  their 
Pastors  and  through  the  teaching  of  God's  good 
Spirit — this  should  be  the  subject  of  our  earnest  and 
unceasing  prayer  to  Him  from  whom  all  holy  desires, 
all  good  counsels,  and  all  just  works  do  proceed:  "0 
Lord,  we  beseech  thee  mercifully  to  receive  the 
prayers  of  thy  people  who  call  upon  thee  ;  and  grant 
that  they  may  both  perceive  and  know  what  things 
they  ought  to  do,  and  also  may  have  grace  and  power 
faithfully  to  fulfil  the  same,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord." 

Signed,  Alonzo  Potter, 

Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Pennsylvania. 
January  14th,  1851. 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 


The  following  extracts  from  annual  addresses  to 
the  Convention  of  Pennsylvania,  are  introduced,  partly 
as  explanatory  of  matters  touched  upon  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages — more  especially  as  embodying  other 
opinions  which  have  been  formed  with  some  care. 
They  embrace  a  variety  of  topics,  some  of  which  are 
of  a  general  nature-— others  pertain  more  immediately 
to  the  duties  and  interests  of  those  who  were 
addressed. 


I.       . 

CANDIDATES    FOR   THE   MINISTRY. 
(From  the  Address  of  1846.) 

A  considerable  portion  of  the  candidates  in  this 
diocese  are  pursuing  their  studies  in  Theological 
Seminaries.  Of  the  residue,  such  as  reside  in  Phila- 
delphia receive  counsel  and  direction  from  the  clergy 
of  the  parishes  with  which  they  are  respectively  con- 
nected ;  and  by  the  liberality  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
Episcopal  Academy,  provision  is  also  made,  by  which 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Hare  can  devote  an  hour  daily,  for  five 

30 


350  APPENDIX   I. 

days  in  each  week,  to  their  instruction  in  the  original 
languages  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  To  a 
small  number  of  candidates,  I  have  myself  been  able 
to  give  some  instruction,  and  I  hope  hereafter  to  have 
leisure  to  do  more.  The  relation  in  which  a  Bishop 
is  placed  to  those  who  are  preparing  for  the  ministry, 
as  well  by  the  fearfully  important  interests  at  stake, 
as  by  his  vows  made  at  his  consecration,  and  by  the 
9th  Canon  of  1832,  which  requires  him  to  give  vigi- 
lant superintendence  both  to  their  studies  and  their 
moral  deportment, — is  a  relation  of  the  most  serious 
and  responsible  character.  At  a  time  when  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  clergy  depends  so  peculiarly  on  their 
exemplary  conduct,  their  practical  good  sense,  and 
their  ample  literary  and  theological  acquirements,  one 
whose  duty  it  is  to  confer  the  sacred  office  by  the  lay- 
ing on  of  hands,  would  fail  in  a  most  important  de- 
partment of  his  labors,  if  he  did  not  strive  to  become 
personally  acquainted  with  all  the  candidates  within 
his  jurisdiction.  In  an  age,  too,  when  questions,  once 
considered  as  settled,  are  re-opened  and  are  discussed 
with  equal  learning,  ability,  and  zeal,  it  has  become 
especially  important  that  young  men  preparing  for 
the  sacred  ministry  should  be  trained  to  that  careful 
and  reverent  spirit  of  inquiry,  which  will  guard  them 
as  well  against  the  resuscitated  errors  of  the  past,  as 
against  the  unwarrantable  novelties  of  the  present. 
The  mournful  experience  of  the  last  few  years,  both 
in  England  and  in  this  country,  shows  the  danger  of 
that  rash  and  presumptuous  tone  of  speculation  which 
is  sometimes  most  rash  when  employed  in  advocating 
the  abstract  claims  of  authority ;  and  which,  begin- 
ning with  harsh  and  unfilial  animadversions  on  the 
reformers  and  founders  of  our  Church,  terminates,  but 
too  frequently,  in  renouncing  their  guidance  for  the 
spurious  Catholicism  of  Rome.  This  disposition,  un- 
becoming in  all,  is  peculiarly  unbecoming  in  those 
who  are  only  preparing  for  orders,  and  who  should 
appreciate  the  awful  responsibility  which  they  assume, 
if  they  seize  upon  doubtful  opinions,  hardly  consis- 


CANDIDATES   FOR   THE   MINISTRY.  351 

tent  with  loyalty  to  the  Church,  and  hold  them  with 
a  confidence  which  nothing  but  years  of  the  most  pa- 
tient and  thorough  investigation  could  warrant.  In 
whatever  direction  such  a  spirit  may  manifest  itself, 
it  ought,  as  it  seems  to  me,  to  be  promptly  discouraged; 
and  young  men  should  be  warned  against  the  peril 
and  guilt  which  they  incur,  if  they  press  forward  to 
a  ministry  which  they  cannot  leave  without  reproach, 
and  in  which  they  may  find  that  they  cannot  continue 
without  dishonor.  I  make  these  remarks  the  more 
freely  now,  because,  as  far  as  I  know,  the  candidates 
in  this  diocese  are  not  liable  to  censure  in  these  re- 
spects, and  I  can  make  them  therefore  without  invi- 
diousness.  So  far  as  I  have  any  voice  in  the  councils 
of  the  diocese,  it  shall  always  be  raised  in  favor  of  a 
generous  and  charitable  policy;  but  it  ought  not  to 
be  forgotten  that  such  policy  must  be  maintained  with- 
out sacrificing  the  integrity  of  our  Reformed  and 
truly  Catholic  faith,  and  hence  that  some  limits  must 
be  fixed  to  the  license  in  which  they  can  indulge  who 
would  be  allowed  to  serve  at  our  altars. 


(From  the  Address  of  1849.) 

Esteeming  it  important  that  the  Church  in  this  dio- 
cese should  be  better  acquainted  with  the  spiritual 
condition  of  those  districts,  in  which  the  population 
is  most  rapidly  increasing,  I  last  summer  commissioned 
two  of  our  Candidates  for  Orders,  in  whose  judgment 
and  efiiciency  I  had  confidence,  to  explore  the  whole 
coal-region  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State.  These 
candidates,  accompanied  by  one  from  the  Diocese  of 
Western  New  York,  performed  a  laborious  tour,  of  a 
month's  duration,  during  which  they  passed  from 
Pottsville  through  Schuylkill,  Carbon,  Luzerne,  and 
Wayne  Counties,  to  Honesdale,  visiting  1433  families, 
distributing  Bibles,  Testaments,  and  Prayer-Books 
(510),  and  15,000  pages  of  tracts.  They  suppHed  me 
on  their  return  with  a  full  and  circumstantial  account 


852  APPENDIX   I. 

in  writing  of  the  results  of  their  tour,  and  it  is  one 
which  reflected  much  credit  on  their  activity  and  zeal. 
As  other  efforts  of  this  kind  will  probably  be  made 
under  my  direction,  and  as  they  seem  to  me,  if  duly 
directed,  to  promise  much  benefit,  as  well  in  the  in- 
formation which  they  will  furnish  as  in  the  good  done 
to  the  people,  and  in  the  useful  experience  gained  by 
the  candidates,  I  subjoin  in  a  note  the  instructions 
which  were  delivered  to  the  young  gentlemen,  and  an 
abstract  of  their  report. 

NOTE. 
Philadelphia,  July  15th,  1848. 

My  Dear  Young  Friends  : — 

You  have  undertaken  to  visit  some  portions  of 
this  Diocese  as  Catechists  and  Colporteurs.  It  is 
proper,  therefore,  that  you  should  receive  a  few  hints 
from  me  as  to  the  course  which  you  ought  to  pursue 
in  discharging  duties  so  important,  so  delicate,  and  I 
may  add  so  unprecedented. 

The  sphere  of  your  operations  will  be  mainly  in 
the  principal  coal  basins  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania, 
and  your  primary  object  will  be  to  place  yourselves 
in  communication  with  the  resident  population,  and 
especially  with  those  engaged  in  developing  the  entire 
mineral  resources  (iron,  &c.,  as  well  as  coal),  of  these 
districts.  In  your  intercourse  with  these  people  you 
will  endeavor  to  ascertain, 

1.  The  number  of  families  and  of  souls,  in  each 
locality. 

2.  Of  what  country  they  are  natives — how  long 
resident  in  the  United  States — how  long  resident  in 
Pennsylvania — and  how  long  resident  in  that  particu- 
lar locality. 

3.  In  what  faith  or  form  of  worship  and  church 
polity  they  were  educated. 

3.  (b.)  What  place  of  worship  (if  any)  they  attend, 
and  how  often. 

4,  How  far  their  children  have  been  baptized. 


CANDIDATES   FOR   THE   MINISTRY.  853 

5.  How  far  they  are  supplied  with  Bibles,  Reli- 
gious Tracts,  &c. 

6.  What  attention  is  paid  to  the  religious  education 
of  the  children  at  home,  in  Sunday-schools,  &c. 

7.  What  proportion  of  the  whole  population  have 
been  accustomed  to,  or  would  be  inclined  to  attend 
the  services  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 

8.  Whether  there  is  any  opening,  and  how  great, 
for  the  labors  of  a  missionary  or  minister  of  our 
Church. 

9.  What  are  the  habits  of  the  people  as  to  intem- 
perance— desecration  of  the  Lord's  day,  impurity, 
&c.  &c. 

You  will  also  endeavor  to  make  yourself  useful  to 
the  people  with  whom  you  may  meet, 

1.  By  conversation  judiciously  and  unobtrusively 
directed  to  their  own  religious  welfare,  and  especially 
to  that  of  their  children  and  neighbors. 

2.  By  visiting  the  sick,  ministering  to  their  bodily 
comfort,  praying  with  them,  &c. 

3.  By  leaving  Bibles  and  Prayer-Books  (to  be 
sold  or  given),  and  giving  Tracts. 

4.  By  making  arrangements  for  the  establishment 
of  Sunday-schools  or  Catechetical  Classes  where 
there  are  nOne. 

5.  By  appointing  a  time  when  you  will  return 
through  the  same  place,  and  will  hear  the  children 
say  their  Catechism,  &c. 

6.  By  performing  Divine  service  when  opportunity 
offers,  and  reading  short  and  plain  sermons. 

7.  By  brief  and  simple  addresses  on  the  duty  of 
parents  to  children  in  respect  to  religious  education, 
&c. — on  forming  Sunday-schools,  attending  public 
worship,  &c. 

8.  By  taking  the  earlier  preliminary  steps,  where 
there  are  openings  for  congregations,  towards  organ- 
izing them. 

In  discharging  these  duties  you  will  remember  that 
as  young  men  and  candidates  for  orders,  you  should 
abstain  from  what  pertains  exclusively  to  the  public 

30* 


354  APPENDIX   I. 

functions  of  the  ministry ;  and  from  that  which, 
though  it  might  be  well  received  if  it  came  from  the 
aged  or  mature  in  years,  would  be  ungraceful  in  the 
young  and  inexperienced. 

You  will,  before  entering  any  district,  take  pains 
to  place  yourself  in  communication  with  the  clergyman 
of  our  Church  who  may  be  resident  in  that  vicinity, 
and  receive  his  advice  and  instructions. 

You  will  be  careful  to  refer  always  with  respect  to 
such  clergyman  when  speaking'  of  him. 

You  will  decline  entering  into  controversy  as  to  the 
relative  merits  of  our  Church  and  other  bodies.  If 
explanations  are  asked,  give  them  in  the  meekness  of 
wisdom.  If  attacks  are  made,  reply  with  blessings 
and  prayers,  but  unostentatiously ;  and  leave  a  Tract 
calculated  to  obviate  prejudice  and  instruct  ignorance. 

Do  not  obtrude  the  fact  that  you  come  as  represen- 
tatives of  the  Episcopal  Church.  Let  it  rather  tran- 
spire incidentally,  and  let  it  be  seen  that  your  supreme 
desire  is  to  be  useful  to  the  souls  and  bodies  of  men. 

Seek  opportunities  of  mingling  unreservedly  with 
the  people  in  their  houses.  The  females  and  children, 
can  be  seen  through  the  day — a  second  visit  near 
evening  will  enable  you  to  see  the  head  and  father  of 
the  family. 

Always  defer  to  his  wishes  and  authority  in  respect 
to  the  religious  welfare  of  his  family,  except  in  very 
extraordinary  cases. 

Yours  aflfectionately, 

Alonzo  Potter. 

P.S.  In  addition  to  the  other  duties  specified,  you 
will  endeavor  to  direct  persons  attached  to  our  Church 
to  the  nearest  place  of  worship  belonging  to  the  same, 
and  to  provide  for  their  accommodation. 

You  will  have  the  goodness  at  the  close  of  your 
tour,  to  make  a  report  to  me  of  your  services,  and 
of  such  facts  as  throw  light  on  the  spiritual  condition 
of  the  districts  visited. 


CANDIDATES  TOR   THE   MINISTRY.  355 

Philadelphia,  September  2d,  1848. 

The  undersigned  beg  leave  to  offer  the  following 
report  of  their  operations  in  the  coal  districts  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

We  left  Philadelphia,  on  Tuesday,  25th  of  July, 
and  were  occupied  for  one  month.  We  commenced 
our  operations  at  Tremont,  thirteen  miles  west  of 
Pottsville,  and  proceeded  as  far  as  Honesdale,  Wayne 
County. 

We  visited  1433  families,  viz. :  in  Schuylkill  District, 
674 ;  in  Lehigh  District,  405 ;  and  in  the  Upper  Dis- 
trict, 354.  We  distributed  510  books,  viz.;  106 
Bibles,  255  Testaments,  45  large  Prayer-Books,  and 
104  small  Prayer-Books,  and  upwards  of  15,000  pages 
of  Tracts.  A  detailed  account  of  each  place  visited, 
and  tables  of  visits  paid,  and  books  distributed,  will 
be  found  on  the  following  pages,  also  a  map.  It  will 
be  observed  that  we  omitted  visiting  some  families  in 
many  places  ;  this  was  caused  generally  by  their  ab- 
sence from  home. 

With  very  few  exceptions  we  were  received  with 
kindness  by  those  whom  we  visited.  We  found  very 
few  Protestant  families  without  the  Word  of  God. 
Among  the  Roman  Catholics  we  could  do  very  little, 
many  of  them  refusing  even  to  take  our  Tracts  ;  we 
succeeded,  however,  in  placing  the  Word  of  God  in  a 
few  of  their  families.  Our  Prayer-Books  were  received 
gladly  by  those  who  were  not  connected  with  our 
Church,  and  in  some  cases  purchased  by  them ;  we 
trust  that  they  may  be  beneficial  in  attaching  many 
to  our  communion. 

We  held  five  lay-services,  viz. :  Sunday,  P.M.,  July 
30th,  New  Castle;  Sunday,  a.m.,  August  6th,  Mauch 
Chunk  (in  the  absence  of  the  Rector,  Mr.  Russell) ; 
Sunday,  13th,  p.m..  Black  Mountain;  Sunday,  20th, 
P.M.,  Waymart;  Tuesday,  22d,  evening,  Providence. 
These  services  were  generally  well  attended,  and  a 
good  deal  of  interest  manifested. 

We  think  it  important  that  our  services  should  be 
held  at  Tamaqua,  once  every  Sunday ;  that  a  Mis- 


356  APPENDIX   I. 

sionary  should  be  stationed  at  Harrison  to  operate 
also  in  the  neighboring  places,  especially  at  Archbald 
and  Pittston  ;  that  a  Missionary  should  be  stationed 
at  Port  Carbon,  who  might  also  hold  services  at 
Middleport.  It  is  also  desirable  that  a  Missionary 
should  be  employed  at  Buck  Mountain,  Rockport,  and 
White  Haven  ;  and  another  at  Tremont  and  Donald- 
son. An  occasional  service  at  New  Castle  would  no 
doubt  be  well  attended.  We  would  remark,  in  con- 
clusion, that  our  Church  is  losing  yearly  many  mem- 
bers, who  for  want  of  our  services  attach  themselves 
to  the  Methodists.  This  we  submit,  trusting  that  our 
labors  have  not  been  in  vain  in  the  Lord. 

T.    S.    RUMNEY. 
R.   B.    DUANE. 

S.  Clements. 
Rt.  Rev.  Alonzo  Potter,  D.D. 


(From  the  Address  of  1854.) 

I  have  thought  that  much  advantage  would  accrue, 
if  a  Training  College  were  established,  in  which  young 
men  willing  to  consecrate  themselves  to  the  service 
of  their  fellow-men,  and  filled  with  the  right  spirit, 
might  be  prepared  for  such  spheres  of  usefulness  as, 
on  trial,  they  should  be  found  best  fitted  for — be  it 
of  Presbyters,  of  Deacons,  properly  so  called,  of  Cate- 
chists  and  Bible  Readers,  or  even  of  Schoolmasters. 
I  could  find  places  for  a  very  large  number  of  teachers 
in  Pennsylvania,  and,  were  they  earnest  and  intelli- 
gent members  of  our  Church,  they  could,  as  such, 
often  prepare  the  way  for  the  establishment  of  con- 
gregations ;  and  where  the  Church  is  already  planted 
they  could  act  as  most  efficient  auxiliaries  to  settled 
Pastors  and  to  Missionaries.  This  suggestion  needs 
to  be  developed  with  more  fulness  than  is  consistent 
with  the  limits  of  this  address,  and  I  therefore  dismiss 
it  for  the  present. 


CANDIDATES  FOR  THE   MINISTRY.  357 


(From  the  Address  of  1856.) 

In  order  to  train  clergymen  to  the  highest  possible 
efficiency,  it  is  necessary  that  study  and  work  should 
be  more  or  less  combined,  as  well  during  their  novi- 
tiate, as  afterwards.  This  consideration  has  led  to 
the  idea  of  establishing  in  this  diocese  a  proper  Train- 
ing-school for  candidates  for  orders,  where  they  could 
be  trained,  at  one  and  the  same  time,  to  the  theory 
and  practice  of  their  profession.  I  have  been  in  no 
haste  to  press  the  commencing  of  the  institution,  not 
doubting,  that  if  really  needed  and  approved  of  the 
Great  Head  of  the  Church,  the  way  would  in  time, 
be  opened.  Meanwhile,  I  have  much  satisfaction  in 
stating  that  many  of  our  candidates  are  diligently  at 
work  as  Scripture  readers,  Catechists,  and  Lay  Mis- 
sionaries. Two  of  the  most  efficient  and  interesting 
missions  among  the  neglected  and  debased  population 
of  Philadelphia  are  conducted  by  two  of  our  candi- 
dates. Most  of  the  others  are  zealously  engaged 
within  and  without  the  diocese.  It  is  my  purpose  to 
send  them,  during  the  summer  vacation,  over  those 
parts  of  Pennsylvania  where  there  is  most  spiritual 
destitution,  to  distribute  tracts,  Prayer-Books,  and 
Bibles, — to  seek  out  the  scattered  members  of  our 
fold,  and  to  prepare  in  other  ways  for  the  introduction 
of  regular  missions. 

In  our  sore  lack  of  clergymen,  and  of  means  to 
support  them,  it  is  grateful  to  find  that  pious  and  in- 
telligent laymen  are  becoming  more  and  more  sensible 
of  the  obligation  which  rests  upon  them  as  stewards 
of  Christ's  truth.  They  are  devoting  more  of  time 
and  care  to  the  instruction  of  Bible-classes,  and,  in 
connection  with  the  clergy,  are  devising  and  indus- 
triously applying  other  means  to  bring  young  men 
within  the  sphere  of  a  proper  church  influence,  and 
to  carry  the  Gospel  to  those  of  every  age  and  condi- 
tion who  are  living  without  it.  So  long  as  these 
efforts  are  judiciously  made  in  connection  with  otir 


358  APPENDIX   I. 

church  system  they  promise  only  blessing ;  and  I  prny 
God,  that  many  more  laborers  may  be  sent  forth  of 
Him  who  alone  can  send  effectually.  One  layman  in 
this  city  has  under  his  teaching  nearly  one  hundred 
young  men  just  verging  on  manhood,  and  the  recruits 
who  pass  each  year  from  his  classes  to  confirmation 
and  to  the  Holy  Communion  show  how  the  Saviour 
smiles  upon  his  work. 


(From  the  Address  of  1857.) 

The  number  of  candidates  for  orders  in  the  diocese 
was  yesterday  thirty-three.  By  the  ordination  of 
this  morning  it  has  been  reduced  to  twenty-eight.  Of 
this  number,  a  large  proportion — nearly  two-thirds — 
are  residents  of  Philadelphia,  or  its  immediate  vicinity, 
and  several  of  them  have  been  compelled  by  domestic 
and  other  causes  to  remain,  while  preparing  for  the 
ministry,  near  their  homes.  The  residue  have  pro- 
secuted their  studies  at  New  York,  Alexandria,  or 
Middletown,  at  the  seminaries  established  at  those 
places  respectively.  During  the  last  winter,  the  can- 
didates and  deacons  in  Philadelphia,  some  sixteen  in 
number,  have  had  the  opportunity  of  meeting  statedly 
to  receive  instruction  at  the  hands  of  the  Bishop, 
aided  by  a  few  of  the  clergy.  A  course  of  lectures 
was  delivered  during  Lent,  twice  a  week,  in  the  chapel 
of  the  Academy  of  the  Church,  in  Locust  Street, 
near  Broad,  and  exercises  in  speaking,  and  in  written 
and  unwritten  composition  were  appointed.  As  the 
causes  which  congregate  so  considerable  a  number 
here  are  of  a  permanent  nature,  it  seems  proper,  and 
almost  necessary,  that  some  more  thorough  provision 
should  be  made  for  their  instruction.  In  the  hope 
that  I  shall  have  the  co-operation  of  the  clergy,  and 
if  necessary  of  the  laity,  some  effort  will  be  made  to 
secure  regular  exercises  through  a  large  part  of  each 
year,  and  to  connect  with  them  that  practical  train- 
ing in  the  pastoral  and  missionary  work,  of  the  im- 


CANDIDATES   FOR   THE   MINISTRY.  359 

portance  of  which  I  have  spoken  in  several  preceding 
addresses,  and  entertain  every  year  a  deeper  convic- 
tion. A  large  city  affords  unlimited  scope  for  such 
training,  under  the  eye  of  experienced  pastors  and 
missionaries.  If  properly  employed,  under  their  di- 
rection, candidates  could  render  important  services, 
while  they  would  gather  an  invaluable  fund  of  expe- 
rience and  practical  efficiency. 

During  the  last  summer's  vacation,  I  deputed  seve- 
ral candidates — most  of  whom  are  now  in  orders — 
to  act  as  lay  readers  and  catechists  at  different  points 
in  the  interior  of  the  diocese.  Some  of  them  were 
stationary,  others  itinerant.  They  acted  under  in- 
structions, and  in  conjunction  with  the  clergy,  in  the 
vicinity  of  their  appointed  fields.  Much,  however, 
was  necessarily  left  to  their  own  discretion,  and  it 
was  satisfactory  to  learn  that  they  acted  with  pru- 
dence as  well  as  zeal,  winning  a  good  report  from 
those  among  whom  they  labored,  and  doing  much  to 
edify  and  encourage  those  who  were  without  stated 
ministrations.  The  best  evidence  of  their  efficiency, 
and  of  the  propriety  with  which  they  bore  themselves, 
may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  applications  for  their 
services,  when  in  orders,  have  been  preferred  with 
earnestness  from  nearly  every  place  which  they  visit- 
ed. None  are  more  ready  than  themselves,  however, 
to  recognize  the  fact  that  they  gained  in  practical 
power  more  than  an  equivalent  for  all  the  service 
which  they  were  enabled  to  render. 


(From  the  Address  of  1853.) 

In  my  anxiety  to  increase  the  working  power  and 
efficiency  of  the  congregations  and  clergy  we  now 
have,  I  may  have  sometimes  overlooked  too  much 
another  duty  of  the  Episcopate — that  of  seeking  out 
and  introducing  into  the  ministry,  young  men  of  the 
requisite  zeal  and  ability.  It  is  certain  that  the  num- 
ber of  candidates  for  orders  in  this  diocese  (seven- 


360  APPENDIX   II. 

teen)*  is  altogether  disproportioned  to  her  wants,  and 
how  to  increase  it  becomes  a  question  of  such  interest 
and  such  pressing  necessity,  that  I  commend  it  to  the 
serious  consideration  of  all  the  members  of  the  Church. 
We  have  great  need  to  ponder  the  words  of  our  Mas- 
ter, "  The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  laborers 
are  few."  These  words  hold  true  to  the  letter,  of 
the  work  which  Providence  spreads  out  before  us  in 
Pennsylvania.  The  call  is  from  every  side,  and  the 
frequency  and  the  importunity  with  which  it  is  re- 
peated, becomes  a  source  of  inexpressible  anxiety 
and  pain  to  those  who  are  expected  to  afford  assist- 
ance wholly  beyond  their  ability.  Let  our  prayers 
then  go  up  more  earnestly  and  frequently  to  the 
Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  he  will  send  forth  laborers 
into  his  harvest,  and  let  us  be  ever  ready  to  en- 
courage and  sustain  those,  who,  in  the  true  spirit, 
and  with  the  proper  qualifications,  offer  themselves 
for  the  work.  Twenty-five  clergymen  are  at  this 
time  much  needed,  and  that  additional  number  could 
now  be  supported,  provided  they  were  men  who  love 
wotk,  who  can  endure  hardness,  and  who  are  not 
wanting  in  piety,  prudence,  and  ability  to  teach. 


IL 


PRIMITIVE   DEACONS. 
(From  the  Address  of  1846.) 

By  Canon  VI,  of  1844,  a  Bishop  is  authorized  to 
admit  persons  who  have  not  been  tried  and  examined 
in  the  manner  prescribed  in  other  canons,  provided, 
he  shall  be  requested  to  do  so  by  a  resolution  of  the 
Convention  of  his  diocese.  The  object  and  import  of 
this  canon  are  probably  understood  by  the  members  of 

*  The  present  number  (April,  1858)  is  thirty-one. 


PRIMITIVE   DEACONS.  861 

this  body;  and  they  will  be  prepared,  therefore,  to 
prefer  the  request  referred  to,  if  in  their  judgment, 
the  interests  of  the  Church  in  this  diocese  shall  re- 
quire it.  The  deacons  contemplated  in  this  canon, 
are  not  in  any  case  to  have  charge  of  parishes,  and 
can  be  ordained  presbyters  only  when  they  have 
completed  the  studies  and  passed  the  examinations 
prescribed  in  other  canons,  both  for  deacons  and  for 
priests. 

In  officiating  and  performing  other  duties,  they 
are  to  be  under  the  direction  of  the  Rector  within 
whose  parish  they  labor ;  and  they  are  not  to  have 
seats  in  any  convention,  nor  be  made  the  basis  of 
any  representation  in  the  management  of  the  con- 
cerns of  the  Church.  I  have  not  been  able  to  satisfy 
myself  how  far  officers,  sustaining  such  a  relation  to 
the  Church  and  its  clergy,  are  likely  to  be  useful  in 
the  present  state  of  society  in  this  Commonwealth. 
That  some  aid  for  the  clergy  in  our  larger  parishes, 
and  especially  in  cities,  is  much  to  be  desired,  is  cer- 
tain ;  and  it  is  not  impossible  that  this  aid  might  be 
effectively  rendered  by  Deacons,  such  as  are  provided 
for  in  this  canon.  From  a  passage  in  the  treatise  of. 
Bishop  White  on  the  Ordination  Offices,  it  is  evident 
that  that  wise  and  venerable  counsellor  of  our  Church 
felt,  many  years  since,  the  importance  of  some  further 
provision  in  relation  to  Deacons.  After  adverting  to 
the  various  duties  specified  in  the  ordinal  as  pertain- 
ing to  this  office,  and  especially  to  that  which  requires 
the  incumbent  "(where  provision  is  so  made)  to  search 
for  the  sick,  poor,  and  impotent  people  of  the  parish ; 
to  intimate  their  estates,  names,  and  places  where 
they  dwell,  unto  the  curate,  that  by  his  exhortation 
they  may  be  relieved  with  the  alms  of  the  parish- 
ioners or  others,"  the  Bishop  adds  that  it  were  much 
to  be  desired,  that  in  this  respect,  practice  were  more 
accordant  with  theory.  He  then  proceeds :  "  Of 
the  improvement  here  intimated,  there  can  be  little 
hope,  until  the  Church  shall  think  it  expedient  to 
ordain  to  the  office  of  Deacons  some,  of  whom  no  ex- 

31 


862  APPENDIX   II. 

pectation  is  entertained  that  they  will  rise  to  a  higher 
order  of  the  ministry.  And  where  would  be  the  im- 
propriety, or  rather  how  comely  as  well  as  useful 
would  it  prove,  if,  even  in  churches  provided  with  in- 
cumbents, there  was  a  religious  person  of  each  church 
following  some  secular  employment,  yet  managing 
any  revenues  appropriated  to  the  poor,  under  a  de- 
signation known  to  be  paramount  and  from  the  source 
of  all  ecclesiastical  authority  ?  which  expedient  might 
be  so  conducted  as  to  leave  the  tenure  of  property 
where  it  is,  in  the  hands  of  churchwardens  and  vestry- 
men, to  whom  also  there  should  be  an  accountability 
for  the  disposal  of  moneys  in  the  Deacons'  hands. 
But  the  institution  would  be  still  more  useful  in 
places  in  which,  because  of  the  small  number,  or  the 
poverty  of  the  people,  there  can  be  no  permanent 
provision  for  a  minister  devoting  his  whole  time  to 
the  services  of  the  sanctuary,  an  evil  which  would  be 
in  some  measure  remedied  by  the  appointment  to  the 
deaconship  of  a  proper  character,  wherever  it  should 
offer,  with  the  view  not  only  of  his  distributing  to  the 
poor,  but  further  for  the  reading  of  Scriptures  and 
discourses,  and  for  baptizing.  It  cannot  but  be  sup- 
posed that  his  reading  of  prayers  and  of  sermons  of 
approved  divines,  would  carry  more  weight  than  when 
it  is  done,  as  occasionally  at  present,  by  a  layman  ; 
although  this,  where  necesssary,  is  commendable. 

"  While  there  is  thus  held  out  the  utility  of  an 
alteration  in  our  practice,  it  is  not  wished  to  be  un- 
derstood as  a  proposal  to  hazard  the  accomplishment 
of  it  by  any  imprudent  haste  ;  especially  by  produc- 
ing such  dissatisfaction  as  might  endanger  the  peace 
of  the  communion.  But  there  is  perceived  no  impro- 
priety in  the  expressing  of  the  opinion,  countenanced 
as  it  is  by  avowed  principles  of  this  Church  ;  from 
which  there  is  a  deviation  in  practice,  although  in 
points  not  materially  affecting  either  truth  or  order." 

Before  dismissing  this  subject,  I  may  be  allowed 
to  suggest  whether  the  time  may  not  be  approaching 
when  it  will  be  expedient  for  deacons,  who  have  taken 


PRIMITIVE  DEACONS.  333 

the  usual  course  of  study  and  preparation,  to  remain 
for  some  time,  especially  if  they  are  still  young  and 
inexperienced,  as  assistants  in  the  parishes  of  the 
older  clergy.  They  will  thus  receive,  under  the  di- 
rection of  minds  matured  by  study,  reflection,  and 
observation,  that  training  in  the  practical  duties  of 
their  profession  which  theological  seminaries  can 
hardly  be  expected  to  afford  ;  but  without  which  edu- 
cation for  the  sacred  profession  is  essentially  imper- 
fect. If  excused  from  preaching  too,  during  such 
a  novitiate,  deacons  would  be  able  to  make  important 
additions  to  their  stock  of  theological  learning,  and 
would  be  enlarging,  in  every  respect,  their  resources 
for  future  usefulness,  while  they  would  be  rendering 
valuable  services  to  our  people,  and  to  overburdened 
pastors. 

(From  the  Address  of  1848.) 

It  is  proper  to  state,  that  in  the  case  of  two  of  the 
Deacons  ordained  this  year,  the  ordinary  license  to 
preach  was  withheld.  This  course  was  adopted  in 
conformity  with  the  wishes  of  the  candidates  them- 
selves, and  as  the  result  of  deep  conviction  on  my 
part,  that  the  ultimate  usefulness  of  our  younger 
clergy  will  be  materially  promoted  if  they  pass  a 
large  portion  of  their  diaconate  in  the  parishes,  and 
under  the  supervision  of  the  elder  clergy. 


(From  the  Address  of  1849.) 

In  my  first  address  to  the  Convention  of  this  Dio- 
cese, I  intimated  my  conviction  that  the  Church  would 
be  better  served  if  Deacons  w^ere  more  frequently  or- 
dained without  a  license  to  preach — serving  as  assist- 
ants in  the  parishes  of  the  older  clergy,  and  studying 
under  their  direction.  In  my  last  address  I  reported 
the  names  of  two  Deacons  who  had  cheerfully  ac- 
quiesced in  my  wishes  in  this  respect.    I  have  now  to 


364  APPENDIX  II. 

add  that  a  portion  of  those  who  have  been  ordained 
within  the  last  year  have  taken  the  same  course,  and 
that  three  deacons  are  now  laboring  in  this  city,  on 
the  primitive  model. 


(From  the  Address  of  1854.) 

The  restoration  of  the  Diaconate  to  a  nearer  con- 
formity with  the  primitive  model  was  another  measure 
which  this  Convention*  attempted.  I  regard  that 
attempt  as  a  wise  one.  We  much  need  a  class  of 
men  who  can  assist  in  the  outdoor  work  of  the  Church, 
where  robust  sense,  fervent  piety,  and  knowledge  of 
the  world,  are  often  more  important  than  mere  erudi- 
tion, or  even  than  the  capacity  to  teach — in  the  high- 
est sense  of  that  word.  In  some  cases  these  men  will 
be  found  to  possess  eminent  gifts,  and  will  advance 
to  the  highest  positions.  In  others,  they  will  remain 
permanently  and  contentedly  in  subordinate  stations, 
and  will  there  give,  to  Pastors  of  Churches  and  to 
Missionaries,  aid  which  they  have  long  needed,  and  the 
need  of  which  is  coming  every  day  to  be  more  keenly 
and  generally  felt.  The  legislation  of  October  last  on 
this  subject  was  merely  experimental,  and  may  need 
material  revision.  It  was  founded  in  a  deep  convic- 
tion not  only  that  we  want  more  laborers,  but  that 
we  want  those  of  more  diversified  powers  and  attain- 
ments ;  and  it  was  intended  to  charge  Bishops  and 
Standing  Committees  with  a  larger  discretion,  and  a 
graver  responsibility  in  respect  to  the  first  grade  of 
the  ministry.  He,  of  course,  greatly  misapprehends 
the  object,  and,  as  I  think,  the  tendency  of  this  mea- 
sure, who  supposes  that  it  was  intended,  or  must  con- 
tribute, to  depreciate  learning  in  the  ministry,  or  to 
set  aside  a  thorough  elementary  training  for  those 
w^ho  are  to  become  useful  and  able  ministers  of  the 
New  Testament.  The  importance  of  erudition  and 
of  the  most  consummate  intellectual  ability  among 

*  G-eneral  Convention  of  1853. 


RELIGIOUS   TRAINING.  865 

the  clergy  I  should  be  among  the  first  to  insist  on ; 
but  no  one  will  contend  that  either  of  these  can  be 
made  universal,  or  that,  in  all  stations,  either  of  them 
is  indispensable  or  even  necessary.  Let  the  utmost 
be  done  to  secure  pastors  for  our  congregations  who 
are  accomplished  in  all  that  can  make  men  wise  to 
win  souls,  but  let  us  not  forget  that  to  perform  that 
which,  according  to  our  Ordinal,  appertaineth  to  the 
office  of  a  Deacon,  requires  only  an  inferior  grade 
both  of  capacity  and  knowledge.  It  may  not  be  im- 
proper, in  leaving  this  topic,  to  express  the  hope  that 
efforts  to  raise  the  standard  of  literary  and  theolo- 
gical attainments  among  the  clergy  will  keep  pace 
with  every  effort  to  bring  our  services  nearer  to  the 
people ;  and  that  in  all  such  efforts  we  shall  remem- 
ber, first,  that  a  vigorous,  well-disciplined,  and  active 
mind  is  much  more  of  a  power  than  mere  learning, 
however  great;  but,  secondly,  that  more  extensive 
and  profound  learning  is  needed  in  our  Church  in 
this  country — that  we  are  without  the  appliances  of 
wealth  and  learned  leisure  which  the  theologians  of 
our  Mother  Church  have  enjoyed  ;  and  hence,  thirdly^ 
that  our  clergy,  after  they  receive  orders,  and  are 
charged  with  the  cure  of  souls,  need,  as  students,  a 
degree  of  self-culture,  self-reliance,  and  co-operation 
among  themselves,  greater  perhaps  than  was  ever 
needed  before  in  any  Church  since  the  primitive  ages 
of  Christianity. 


III. 

RELIGIOUS   TRAINING — CONFIRMATIONS. 

(From  the  Address  of  1847.) 

It  is  my  intention  to  include,  in  the  visitations  of 
each  year,  as  large  a  portion  of  the  parishes  as  pos- 
sible.    Not  less  than  six-sevenths  of  our  people,  who 

31* 


366  APPENDIX   III. 

have  not  yet  been  confirmed,  will  probably  have  an 
opportunity  of  approaching  that  rite  once  in  every 
twelve  months.  It  is  my  wish  at  present  to  leave 
with  the  Rector  of  each  parish  an  unfettered  discre- 
tion in  regard  to  the  question  whether  Confirmation 
shall  be  administered  at  any  particular  visit  I  make. 
Confirmation  being  a  renewal  of  baptismal  vows 
ought  not  to  be  approached  except  by  those  w^ho  are 
in  a  proper  state  to  receive  adult  baptism,  and  I  pre- 
sume few  will  doubt  that  that  Sacrament  ought  to  be 
administered  only  to  those  who  are  firmly  purposed 
to  lead  a  religious  life,  and  to  separate  themselves 
from  the  sinful  practices  and  corrupting  vanities  of 
the  world.  Hence,  I  should  deprecate  any  influence 
applied  by  Pastors  to  the  young  or  to  other  members 
of  their  flocks,  to  induce  them  to  come  to  Confirma- 
tion, except  that  rite  be  distinctly  presented  to  the 
careless  and  worldly  as  the  beginning  of  a  life  of  god- 
liness ;  to  the  serious-minded  as  a  means  of  strength- 
ening them  in  their  determination  to  be  the  Lord's. 
Two  extremes,  as  it  seems  to  me,  ought  to  be  guarded 
against :  the  one  is  that  of  urging  persons  to  Confir- 
mation who  are  not  decidedly  serious,  or  who  are  im- 
perfectly instructed  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  the 
vows  which  they  ratify,  and  the  obligations  which  as 
Christians  they  assume ;  the  other  is  that  of  neglect- 
ing to  extend  the  invitation,  and  to  aff*ord  the  instruc- 
tion which  the  Church  requires  whenever  the  Bishop 
gives  notice  of  his  intention  to  visit  a  parish.  On 
such  notice  being  duly  given,  it  is  made  the  duty  of 
the  minister  of  the  parish  (Canon  26th  of  General  Con- 
vention in  1832,  and  Canon  11th  of  the  Church  in 
this  Diocese)  to  communicate  the  same  to  the  mem- 
bers individually  of  his  congregation  or  congregations 
as  soon  as  opportunity  ofi"ers,  and  also  to  publish  it 
to  such  congregation  or  congregations  on  their  first 
meeting  thereafter  for  public  worship.  And  the 
Canon  of  this  Diocese  farther  directs  that  he  shall 
also,  on  said  occasion  of  public  worship,  invite  the 
children  of  due  age^  and  others  not  confirmed,  to  ad- 


RELIGIOUS   TRAINING.  867 

vise  with  7iim  concerning  their  coming  to  that  holy 
ordinance^  and  he  shall  diligently  and  faithfully  pre- 
pare them  for  the  same;  and  he  shall  be  ready  to 
present  for  Confirmation  those  who  shall  have  been 
previously  instructed  and  prepared."  The  wisdom 
of  this  provision  is  obvious,  and  the  clergy  will  dis- 
cern the  advantage  of  conforming  to  its  provisions. 
It  afi"ords  annually,  in  most  parishes,  a  distinct  occa- 
sion for  dealing  with  the  young  in  respect  to  their 
baptismal  vows,  and  at  the  same  time  makes  it  the 
Pastor's  special  right  and  duty  to  call  upon  the  im- 
penitent of  every  age  to  consider  their  ways.  It  also 
gives  an  opportunity,  always  to  be  valued,  of  collect- 
ing those  together  who  most  need  religious  instruc- 
tion and  influence,  of  conducting  them  through  a 
course  of  thorough  training,  and  subjecting  their  con- 
sciences and  hearts  to  frequent  and  faithful  appeals 
in  private  as  well  as  in  public.  While,  then,  I  would 
discourage  all  except  the  most  thorough  preparation 
of  heart  for  Confirmation,  I  would  earnestly  recom- 
mend to  the  clergy  to  omit,  on  no  such  occasion,  the 
attempt  to  engage  the  young  in  a  closer  and  more 
serious  consideration  of  their  peculiar  duties  and  pri- 
vileges, and  to  impress  on  all  the  necessity  of  giving 
themselves  at  once,  and  with  all  their  hearts,  to  the 
Lord.  It  is  a  gratifying  fact,  that  in  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  parishes  of  this  diocese,  most  of  the  per- 
sons confirmed  soon  become  communicants.  I  refer 
to  this  as  evidence  that  there  is  an  increasing  dispo- 
sition to  recognize  the  solemnity  of  the  rite,  and  the 
necessity  of  a  spiritual  preparation  for  receiving  it. 


(Also  from  the  Address  of  1847.) 

On  returning  to  Philadelphia,  I  was  occupied,  for 
some  time,  principally  in  performing  the  more  private 
duties  which  pertain  to  my  office,  and  which  neces- 
sarily occupy  a  large  portion  of  time,  especially  after 
an  absence  of  several  weeks.     I  also  availed  myself 


368  APPENDIX   III. 

of  the  opportunity  kindly  afforded  me  at  this  time  by 
the  Rectors  of  the  parishes  in  the  vicinity  to  officiate, 
by  preaching  and  otherwise,  in  their  churches,  by  ad- 
dressing the  Sunday-schools,  catechizing  the  children, 
and  rendering  such  other  service  as  might  be  called 
for.  These  informal  visits,  made  without  previous 
notice,  and  not  involving  the  performance  of  offices 
strictly  Episcopal,  I  regard  as  useful  alike  to  a  Bishop 
and  to  the  people  of  his  charge.  They  afford  occa- 
sion for  intercourse  with  the  laity,  both  more  frequent 
and  more  unrestrained  than  can  well  be  enjoyed  at 
regular  visitations ;  they  exhibit  the  parishes  in  their 
ordinary  working  condition,  and  they  afford  to  the 
Clergy  and  Bishop  additional  opportunities  for  con- 
ference, and  for  a  fraternal  interchange  of  their  views 
and  feelings. 

(From  the  Address  of  1849.) 

The  confirmations  this  year  are  greater,  by  more 
than  one-seventh,  than  in  the  year  preceding.  This 
may  be  taken,  I  trust,  as  gratifying  evidence  of 
increased  effort  on  the  part  of  the  clergy,  and  in- 
creased interest  on  the  part  of  the  people.  I  have 
no  desire  to  see  the  ranks  of  those  who  approach  this 
rite  swelled,  except  by  persons  who  are  sincerely  and 
earnestly  bent  upon  leading  virtuous  and  godly  lives. 
The  number  of  such  persons,  however,  will  depend 
much  upon  the  diligence  and  zeal,  with  which  pastors 
train  the  young  of  their  flocks,  and  deal  with  the 
consciences  of  those  who,  though  older,  are  still 
undecided  or  reckless,  in  respect  to  the  great  duty  of 
consecrating  themselves  to  God's  service.  We  shall 
never,  as  it  seems  to  me,  realize  the  ideal  which  the 
Church  presents  to  us  in  her  baptismal  office,  until  we 
regard  each  baptized  child  as  committed  to  our  special 
care,  to  be  duly  prepared,  through  the  joint  efforts  of 
parents,  teachers,  sponsors  and  pastors,  for  publicly 
ratifying  the  covenant  in  which,  by  baptism,  they 
were  separated  from  the  world,  and  given  over  to  be 
faithful   followers  of  Christ.     Hence  the   solicitude 


RELiaiOUS   TRAINING.  869 

with  which,  in  their  public  and  private  ministrations, 
in  the  Sunday-school  and  catechetical  class,  pastors 
should  watch  over  the  lambs  of  the  flock.  The 
frequent  return  of  confirmation  affords  opportunities 
equally  frequent  for  special  appeals  to  the  whole  con- 
gregation, and  for  more  than  usual  efforts  to  impress 
upon  the  young  a  deep  sense  of  their  Christian  obli- 
gations. I  desire  therefore  to  call  the  renewed 
attention  of  the  clergy  to  the  ninth  Canon  of  the 
Church  in  this  Diocese^  which  makes  it  their  duty, 
when  notified  of  the  Bishop's  visitation,  first  to  invite 
the  children  of  due  age  and  others  not  confirmed  to 
advise  with  them  concerning  their  coming  to  that  holy 
ordinance,  and  then  diligently  and  faithfully  to  pre- 
pare them  for  the  same.  It  seems  to  me  that  a  dili- 
gent and  faithful  preparation  requires  a  special  course 
of  instruction  for  the  candidates  in  common,  with 
frank  and  explicit  conversations  with  each  one  in 
private.  Less  than  this  would  hardly  seem  sufficient 
to  enable  a  pastor  to  judge  of  the  qualifications  of 
his  respective  candidates,  or  to  give  them  the  requi- 
site counsel  and  direction.  I  ask  particular  attention 
to  the  canon  in  question,  because  its  provisions  are 
additional  to  those  contained  in  the  canons  of  the 
General  Convention  on  the  subject  of  confirmation, 
and  it  is  my  purpose  hereafter  to  urge  their  careful 
observance.  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  add  that 
in  a  large  proportion  of  the  parishes  in  this  diocese, 
this  important  part  of  ministerial  duty  is  conscien- 
tiously and  assiduously  fulfilled. 


(From  the  Address  of  1850.) 

Another  topic  on  which  I  would  gladly  enlarge,  is 
the  religious  training  of  our  children.  This  is 
everywhere  identified  with  the  best  hopes  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  world  ;  but  in  no  country,  per- 
haps, so  much  as  in  our  own.  The  almost  unbounded 
liberty  to  which  the  rising  generation  among  us  are 


370  APPENDIX  III. 

soon  to  be  admitted,  renders  it  all-important  that 
they  should  have  engraven  deeply  upon  their  hearts 
a  sense  of  their  responsibility  to  God  and  man.  Sub- 
ordination to  law  can  be  hoped  for  in  such  a  country, 
only  when  there  is,  during  childhood,  a  due  submission 
to  the  authority  of  parents,  teachers,  and  pastors.  I 
cannot  enlarge  on  this  subject ;  but  I  may  be  per- 
mitted to  remark,  that  as  Episcopalians,  it  becomes 
us  to  employ  that  special  system  of  training,  which 
our  Church  has  provided.  Our  Sunday-schools  are 
a  great  blessing  ;  but  I  think  their  usefulness  to 
society,  in  some  cases,  would  be  much  increased  and 
their  service  to  the  Church  greatly  augmented,  if  our 
Catechism  and  Liturgical  services  held  a  more  promi- 
nent place,  and  if  teachers  were  more  carefully  select- 
ed and  induced  to  prepare  themselves  better  for  the 
work  of  instruction.  It  should  be  an  object  kept 
constantly  in  view,  to  be  pursued  judiciously  and  in 
its  proper  place — but  yet  never  neglected ;  to  at- 
tach the  young  under  our  care  to  our  own  mode  of 
worship  and  to  our  distinguishing  tenets  and  usages. 
This  requires  positive  instruction,  as  well  as  the  in- 
direct and  powerful  influence  of  custom  and  habit. 
To  secure  the  aid  even  of  these  last,  children  should 
he  early  trained  to  respond  in  Sunday-schools  and  in 
Church,  and  as  far  as  practicable,  convenient  places 
should  be  provided,  where  they  can  both  see  and  hear, 
during  public  worship. 


(From  the  Address  of  1857.) 

The  Confirmations  thus  reported  will  be  found  con- 
siderably larger  in  the  aggregate  than  in  any  pre- 
ceding year.  This  is  to  be  ascribed  in  part  to  the 
fact  that,  owing  to  infirm  health,  I  failed  during  the 
preceding  year  to  visit  several  parishes.  It  is  also 
due,  in  some  measure,  to  the  late  day  in  May  at 
which  the  present  meeting  of  our  Convention  occurs, 
as  compared  with  the  last — the  period  covered  by  this 
Report  being  thus  extended  to  fifty-five,  instead  of 


RELIGIOUS   TRAINING.  371 

fifty-two  weeks.  But,  after  due  allowance  for  both 
these  causes,  there  will  remain  a  very  considerable 
advance  in  the  number  confirmed.  Let  us  accept  it 
thankfully,  as  evidence  that  God  owns  our  labors 
more  and  more,  and  with  the  determination  that  those 
who  have  thus  renewed  their  baptismal  vows  shall  be 
frequently  reminded  by  us  of  their  duty  to  live  for 
Christ,  and  for  the  extension  to  others  of  the  privi- 
leges which  they  enjoy  themselves.  I  believe  that . 
one  material  cause  of  this  increase  may  be  found  in 
the  fact  that,  in  several  parishes,  the  rite  has  been 
administered  more  than  once  during  the  year.  Few 
pastors,  on  the  approach  of  confirmation,  strive  duly 
to  bring  the  young  and  others  who  are  yet  halting 
between  two  opinions,  to  a  proper  decision  that  there 
are  not  some,  oftentimes  many,  who  are  all  but  per- 
suaded to  declare  themselves. 

Instead  of  being  allowed  to  dismiss  the  matter,  or 
to  postpone  it  indefinitely,  it  is  evidently  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  the  work  begun  in  these  hearts  should, 
with  God's  help,  be  continued  through  the  active  in- 
fluence of  pastors  and  other  friends  ;  that  misap- 
prehensions, if  they  exist,  should  be  corrected,  due 
self-distrust  be  encouraged,  and  the  irrevocable  pur- 
pose formed  and  avowed  to  walk  answerably  to  a 
Christian  calling.  To  this  end  it  is  not  necessary, 
indeed,  that  they  should  wait  for  the  laying  on  of 
hands,  inasmuch  as  they  can  be  received  at  once  to 
the  Communion,  if,  in  the  judgment  of  the  rector, 
they  are  duly  prepared.  But  as  the  right  of  Confir- 
mation seems  admirably  fitted  to  mark  an  interme- 
diate step  of  Christian  training,  and  may  serve,  in 
many  cases,  to  initiate  an  important  period  of  proba- 
tion, my  desire  is  to  confirm,  in  all  the  larger  parishes, 
and  in  others  not  too  difficult  of  access,  as  often  as 
classes  of  ten  or  fifteen  can  be  prepared.  By  this 
course,  the  work  of  preparation  can  be  carried  through 
a  larger  part  of  each  year  ;  the  administration  of  the 
rite  will  be  accompanied,  in  some  cases,  with  less  of 
unhealthy  excitement,  and  this  part  of  the  bishop's 


372  APPENDIX   IV. 

labors,  instead  of  being  crowded  into  one  short  season, 
will  be  so  distributed  throughout  the  whole  year  as  to 
be  more  manageable.  Without  proposing  any  formal 
change,  and  reserving  the  privilege  of  revising  these 
suggestions,  from  time  to  time,  by  the  light  of  expe- 
rience, I  would  here  express  my  readiness  to  confirm, 
in  any  parish  not  too  remote,  where  the  minister  desires 
to  present  a  class  of  ten  or  fifteen  candidates  well  pre- 
pared. 


IV. 

CHURCH  AND   OTHER   SCHOOLS. 
(From  the  Address  of  1847.) 

I  cannot  dismiss  the  subject  of  Scholastic  education 
for  our  children,  without  expressing  my  hope,  that  an 
interest  in  the  institutions  just  mentioned  will  not 
lessen  our  solicitude  for  the  support  and  improvement 
of  the  Common  Schools  of  the  State.  Pennsylvania 
is  now  engaged  in  a  noble  efibrt  to  supply  every  child 
within  her  limits  with  the  means  of  elementary  in- 
struction ;  and  the  success  of  that  efibrt  must  be  a 
cherished  object  with  all  who  would  see  our  civil  in- 
stitutions properly  administered,  or  the  claims  of 
Christianity  in  general,  and  of  our  own  Church  in 
particular,  properly  appreciated.  The  friends  of 
sober  piety  and  of  primitive  Apostolic  truth,  have 
everything  to  hope  and  nothing  to  fear  from  the 
spread  of  intelligence  among  the  people ;  and  that  is 
an  end  which  can  be  secured,  in  the  first  instance, 
only  by  a  general  system  of  schools,  aided  by  the 
bounty  of  the  State,  and  subjected  to  one  plan  of 
supervision.  Where  there  are  diversities  of  language 
and  religious  faith,  and  where  large  masses  of  popu- 
lation are  unconnected  with  any  religious  body,  expe- 
rience has  shown  that  education  cannot  become  gene- 


CHURCH    AND    OTHER    SCHOOLS.  373 

ral  without  the  intervention  of  a  central  authority, 
which  can  at  once  foster,  concentrate,  and  direct  the 
awakening  interest  in  schools.  In  this  country,  that 
authority  must  leave  to  the  people  in  the  respective 
districts  the  details  of  school  government,  insisting 
only  on  a  certain  standard  of  mental  and  moral  quali- 
fication in  the  teachers,  and  a  certain  amount  of  time 
to  be  employed  in  communicating  instruction.  In 
such  a  country,  too,  specific  religious  instruction 
must  be  communicated  to  the  pupils  of  common 
schools  principally  through  the  agency  of  parents, 
Sunday-schools,  and  Pastors.  As  these  schools  are 
attended  almost  exclusively  by  day  scholars,  it  can  be 
given  to  them  chiefly  at  home,  and  in  connection  with 
their  respective  parishes ;  or  it  might,  as  in  some  coun- 
tries of  Europe,  be  imparted  in  school,  at  certain  pre- 
scribed times,  by  the  respective  clergymen  who  have 
charge  of  the  families  to  which  children  in  attendance 
belong.  No  difficulty  on  this  subject  ought,  I  conceive, 
to  endanger  the  paramount  object  of  bringing  the  ne- 
glected children  of  indigence,  of  vice,  and  of  sordid 
indifference,  under  the  benign  influence  of  those  who 
can  teach  them  much,  if  not  everything ;  and  who,  in 
proportion  as  they  open  their  understandings,  and 
raise  their  tastes,  will  only  prepare  them  the  better 
for  that  religious  culture  which  otherwise  they  might 
never  have  attained.  It  should  be  considered,  too, 
that  most  of  the  children  taught  in  our  common 
schools,  can  never  enjoy  the  advantages  of  such 
seminaries  as  we  have  in  connection  with  our  Church, 
and  if  educated  at  all,  must  be  educated  near  their 
own  homes,  and  at  rates  made  sufficiently  low  by  the 
united  contributions  of  the  holders  of  property,  who 
for  all  they  contribute  to  schools,  will  receive  abundant 
return  in  the  diminution  of  taxes,  and  in  the  increased 
security  of  their  persons  and  estates. 

(From  the  Address  of  1849.) 

The  schools  over  which  I  have  been  accustomed  to 
32 


374  APPENDIX    IV. 

exercise  some  supervision,  have  enjoyed  during  the 
last  year  a  large  share  of  public  favor,  and  two  of 
the  female  boarding  schools  have  been  visited  by 
special  tokens  of  the  divine  presence  ;  a  good  pro- 
portion of  the  inmates  in  each  having  been  prepared 
for  an  intelligent  and  devout  renewal  in  confirmation 
of  their  baptismal  vows. 

In  my  last  address,  I  stated  that  efforts  had  been 
made  to  provide /re^  scholarships  at  different  schools, 
for  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  clergy  of  this  dio- 
cese. I  called  attention  especially  to  the  importance 
of  creating  permanent  scholarships  for  the  daughters 
of  such  pastors  as  receive  small  salaries,  and  live 
where  good  schools  are  not  yet  established.  Through 
the  temporary  contributions  of  a  few  benevolent  in- 
dividuals, nine  young  ladies  have  been  placed  at 
boarding  schools,  besides  those  who  are  received  as 
free  day  scholars  at  the  Female  Institute  in  Philadel- 
phia. I  am  now  able  to  state  that  the  foundation  of 
a  permanent  fund  for  this  purpose  has  been  laid. 
The  late  Mrs.  Stott,  of  this  city,  who  died  in  the 
month  of  June  last,  full  of  years,  rich  in  faith  and 
good  works,  and  loaded  with  the  blessings  of  multi- 
tudes who  had  tasted  her  bounty,  or  who  had  seen 
the  daily  beauty  of  her  life, — manifested  a  special 
interest  in  this  charity.  In  addition  to  previous  con- 
tributions, made  a  few  months  before  her  death,  suffi- 
cient to  support  three  scholars  for  one  year,  she  be- 
queathed four  thousand  dollars  to  it  in  one  of  the  last 
codicils  to  her  will,  and  an  association  has  been  formed 
under  the  title  of  "The  Trustees  of  the  Clergy  Daugh- 
ters' Fund,"  and  a  charter  secured  according  to  law. 
To  the  charge  of  these  trustees,  all  funds  devoted  to 
this  purpose  will  be  committed.  I  cannot  but  hope 
that  so  blessed  an  example  as  Mrs.  Stott's  may  be 
followed  in  this  and  in  other  charities,  by  those  who 
would  leave  behind  them  a  memorial  to  gladden  many 
hearts,  and  be  the  means  of  incalculable  good  to  the 
Church  and  her  children. 


CHDRCH  AND   OTHER   SCHOOLS.  875 


(From  the  Address  of  1851.) 

The  subject  of  education  continues  to  receive  at- 
tention. Our  academies  and  female  schools  are  en- 
titled to  a  place  in  the  remembrance  and  support  of 
our  people.  They  pursue  the  tenor  of  their  way, 
noiselessly  and  without  pretension ;  but  as  homes  for 
training  the  young  of  the  gentler  sex,  they  deserve 
on  that  very  account  the  more  of  our  favor  and  con- 
sideration. I  am  most  desirous  of  seeing  seminaries 
for  the  young,  of  different  grades  of  expense,  rising 
in  every  part  of  the  Diocese,  as  fast  as  Providence 
may  open  to  us  facilities,  but  I  shall  be  equally  de- 
sirous that  they  be  places  devoted  to  thorough,  and 
therefore  unpretending  culture,  and  that  they  grow 
up  as  all  useful  and  permanent  institutions  are  likely 
to  grow — gradually,  and  with  well-compacted  strength. 

I  beg  here  to  renew  the  expression  of  my  hope, 
that  increased  care  will  be  taken,  lest  Sunday-schools 
supersede  the  proper  religious  instruction  of  children 
in  families,  and  their  due  care  and  nurture  by  the 
Pastors  of  the  flock.  The  catechetical  instruction, 
which  is  required  to  be  given  statedly  and  "  openly 
in  the  church,"  might  with  great  advantage,  be  ac- 
companied with  an  annual  course  of  lectures  on  the 
Catechism,  to  be  delivered  each  year,  in  the  presence 
of  the  whole  congregation. 

I  would  also  remind  the  members  of  the  Conven- 
tion, that  too  much  care  cannot  be  taken  in  selecting 
proper  teachers  for  our  Sunday-schools ;  and  that  if 
needed,  special  efforts  ought  to  be  made  to  qualify 
them  for  their  duties.  A  clergyman  who  passes  from 
class  to  class  during  their  exercises,  may  frequently 
observe  in  the  instruction  or  discipline  that  which  is 
so  defective  that  it  ought  to  be  pointed  out  distinctly 
and  kindly  to  the  teachers  in  private,  in  order  to  in- 
cite them  to  renewed  and  more  thorough  preparation. 
It  should  be  regarded,  I  conceive,  as  a  settled  prin- 
ciple-, that  without  such  preparation,  both  generally, 


376  APPENDIX    IV. 

and  in  respect  to  the  duties  of  each  Sunday,  the  in- 
fluence of  teachers  will  not  be  that  which  we  must 
desire.  It  should  also  be  considered,  that  they  can 
easily  neutralize  the  benefit  even  of  the  soundest  and 
most  thorough  instruction,  by  the  want  of  proper 
seriousness  and  earnestness  of  manner.  There  should 
be  vivacity,  of  course,  but  no  levity.  Towards  those 
confided  to  their  care,  Sunday-school  teachers  stand 
in  relations  of  great  interest  and  responsibility,  and 
they  never  can  be  too  fervent  in  prayer,  nor  too  dili- 
gent in  effort,  that  both  by  doctrine  and  example, 
they  may  draw  their  pupils  to  the  love  and  obedience 
of  the  truth. 


(From  the  Address  of  1854.) 

Of  the  whole  number  of  clergymen  now  resident 
canonically  in  the  Diocese  four  are  occupied  as  Prin- 
cipals or  Professors  in  Seminaries  of  learning,  and 
of  the  parish  clergy  thirteen  are  also  actively  engaged 
in  teaching  the  higher  branches  of  learning.  It  may 
serve  to  convey  some  conception  of  the  influence — 
almost  unobserved — which  a  few  clergymen  in  this 
Diocese  are  exerting  upon  the  education  of  the 
young,  when  I  state  that  there  are  not  less  than  five 
hundred  children  and  youth  of  both  sexes,  who  are 
pursuing,  under  their  immediate  auspices,  the  more 
advanced  studies  of  an  English  and  classical  course. 
If  to  these  we  add  those  who  are  instructed  by  lay 
members  in  schools  established  in  connection  with  our 
communion,  and  the  much  larger  number  who,  in 
parochial  schools,  are  imbibing  the  elements  of  sacred 
and  secular  knowledge,  we  shall  perceive  that  the 
Church  in  this  Diocese  is  not  entirely  idle  in  the 
work  of  Christian  education.  Add  to  this  the  fact 
that  more  than  fifteen  thousand  children  are  enrolled 
as  attending  upon  our  Sunday-schools,  and  we  shall 
find  reason  to  bless  God  who  has  inclined  the  hearts 
of   His  ministers  and  people  to  give  themselves  so 


CHURCH   AND   OTHER   SCHOOLS.  377 

willingly  and  at  such  great  expense  of  time  and  labor 
to  the  nurture  of  the  young. 

I  have  spoken,  in  the  former  part  of  this  address, 
of  the  relation  of  the  Church  in  this  Diocese  to 
schools.  For  what  we  are  now  doing  in  this  impor- 
tant field  I  trust  I  am  duly  thankful ;  yet  it  bears 
but  a  small  proportion  to  what  with  wisdom  and  patient 
enthusiasm  we  shall  be  able  to  accomplish.  Has  not 
the  time  arrived — at  least,  is  it  not  at  hand — when, 
within  the  bounds  of  each  Convocation  and  each  con- 
siderable section  of  the  Diocese,  there  ought  to  be 
provision  in  one  or  more  good  Boarding  Schools  for  the 
young  of  both  sexes  who  are  pursuing  the  higher 
branches  of  education,  so  that  they  can  be  trained 
under  a  proper  church  influence  ?  We  need  such 
schools  for  our  own  children,  many  of  whom  are  sent, 
with  a  singular  want  of  foresight,  where  they  will 
receive,  either  no  religious  instruction  at  all,  or  one 
utterly  alien  from  our  services,  or,  what  is  worse, 
where  their  allegiance  to  the  simplicity  of  the  Gospel 
and  to  the  very  first  principles  of  the  Reformation 
will  be  secretly  and  insidiously  undermined.  We 
need  such  schools,  too,  for  many  who  are  not  of  our 
fold,  but  who  are  more  than  willing  that  their  children 
should  be  educated  under  the  positive  system  of 
teaching,  and  the  orderly  Christian  nurture,  which 
characterize,  and,  I  trust,  are  destined  still  more  to 
characterize  the  working  of  our  Church.  Has  not 
the  time  also  arrived  when  our  clergy  should  identify 
themselves  more  than  ever  with  our  public  school 
system,  exposed,  as  it  is,  on  one  side  to  perversion, 
and  on  the  other  to  ruin,  and  yet  presenting,  as  it 
does,  the  only  available  means  for  spreading  a  uni- 
versal education  over  the  land? 


32* 


378  APPENDIX  V. 

V. 

CONVOCATIONS. 

(From  the  Address  of  1847.) 

Many  of  our  clerical  brethren  are  much  isolated  by 
the  remoteness  of  their  cures  from  each  other,  and 
opportunities  for  free  communion  and  conference, 
with  mutual  prayer  for  the  Divine  aid  and  guidance, 
can  hardly  fail  to  reanimate  them  in  encountering  the 
toils  and  sacrifices  of  their  ministry,  while  it  must 
supply  them  with  hints  in  respect  to  their  public  and 
private  labors,  which  may  prove  rich  in  blessing  as 
well  to  themselves  as  to  their  respective  flocks.  Such 
meetings  among  the  clergy,  too,  if  connected  with 
frequent  public  service,  with  much  private  prayer, 
and  with  abstinence  from  unprofitable  and  irritating 
controversies,  must  conduce  to  strengthen  the  bonds 
of  mutual  afi"ection  and  confidence,  and  to  induce  that 
spirit  of  general  and  cordial  co-operation,  so  essential 
to  the  growth  of  our  Church,  and  of  true  religion. 
They  prove  most  profitable,  it  is  believed,  where  they 
involve  systematic  efforts  for  the  strengthening  of 
weak  parishes,  for  the  formation  of  new  ones  in 
destitute  places,  and  for  providing  occasional  services 
for  the  scattered  members  of  our  fold.  These  were 
objects  kept  steadily  in  view  in  the  Convocation  at 
Pittsburg. 


(From  the  same  Address.) 

Nothing  I  believe  is  needed  but  earnest  co-opera- 
tion among  the  churches  and  clergy  to  render  most  of 
the  parishes,  now  dependent  on  Missionary  aid,  self- 
supporting,  and  to  build  up  new  parishes  where  our 
services  are  much  desired  and  would  prove  a  great 
blessing.      The    clergy   at    this     convocation   were 


CONVOCATIONS.  379 

favored  with  the  presence  of  the  Agent  of  the  Foreign 
Committee  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  who  furnished 
his  brethren  with  the  results  of  Con  vocational  asso- 
ciations among  the  clergy  of  two  of  the  New  England 
Dioceses,  which  have  been  most  gratifying  as  it 
respects  the  growth  of  the  Church  there  in  numbers, 
strength,  and  piety.  In  addition  to  other  advantages, 
which  are  likely  to  flow  from  these  convocations  pro- 
perly conducted,  will  be  the  gradual  preparation  of 
the  remoter  parts  of  this  State  to  be  formed  into  one  or 
more  separate  Dioceses.  Such  a  result  must  be 
desired  by  every  friend  of  true  religion  ;  but  to  render 
the  measure  a  safe  and  beneficial  one,  the  parishes 
within  the  territory  proposed  for  a  new  Diocese 
should  be  able,  not  only  to  sustain  themselves,  but  to 
bear  the  increased  burden  which  will  be  occasioned 
by  the  support  of  the  Episcopate  and  by  Church  ex- 
tension within  their  own  limits. 


(From  the  Address  of  1848.) 

I  mentioned  in  my  last  address,  that  CONVOCATIONS 
of  the  clergy  had  been  assembled  at  two  or  three 
points  in  the  Diocese,  at  the  time  of  my  visitation  ; 
that  they  were  likely  to  become  a  permanent  element 
in  our  system  of  operations,  and  that,  in  my  opinion, 
they  would  prove,  if  properly  conducted,  powerful 
instruments  of  improvement  to  the  clergy,  and  of 
blessings  to  their  people,  while  they  might  be  made 
subservient  in  a  high  degree,  to  the  extension  of  the 
Church.  I  would  now  state  that  I  have  met  with  four 
convocations  during  the  year.  My  convictions  in  re- 
gard to  their  value  and  efficiency  are  strengthened.  At 
the  meeting,  in  July,  of  the  Convocation  of  Northern 
and  Central  Pennsylvania,  a  permanent  organization 
was  adopted  on  principles  which  will  be  found  in  a  note 
to  this  address,  and  the  members  comprising  it  have 
continued  to  meet  quarterly. 


380  APPENDIX   VI. 


(From  the  Address  of  1849.) 


In  addition  to  the  Northern  Convocation,  the  rules 
of  which  I  reported  to  the  last  Convention,  three 
others  have  since  been  organized  on  the  same  principles. 
The  meetings  have  been  to  me  occasions  of  delightful 
intercourse  with  my  brethren  of  the  clergy,  and  with 
the  people  of  their  parishes.  Besides  public  services 
and  informal  meetings  in  private,  the  members  hold 
frequent  sessions  for  the  discussion  of  practical  ques- 
tions touching  the  duties  of  their  office,  and  for  read- 
ing sermons,  essays,  and  dissertations.  The  follow- 
ing may  be  specified  as  some  of  the  advantages  which 
seem  likely  to  flow  from  these  meetings,  and  I  am 
glad  to  say  that  as  yet  I  have  observed  no  counter- 
acting evils  which  do  not  admit  of  remedy  : 

1.  The  cultivation  of  fraternal  feeling  among  the 
Clergy,  as  also  between  them  and  the  different  Con- 
gregations within  the  bounds  of  the  Convocation,  and 
between  the  congregations  themselves. 

2.  A  spirit  of  local  co-operation  among  the  parishes 
and  clergy  of  different  parts  of  the  diocese. 

3.  Enabling  the  younger  clergy  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  experience  of  their  older  brethren. 

4.  Improvement  in  theological  learning. 


VI. 

SUPPOKT    OF   THE    CLERGY. 

(From  the  Address  of  1848.) 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  ranks  of  the  laboring  clergy, 
in  this  diocese,  do  not  increase  even  in  proportion  to 
the  increase  of  our  churches,  much  less  in  proportion 
to  the  new  calls  which  are  made  for  our  services ;  while 
the  disproportion  between  the  growth  in  the  number 


SUPPORT   OP   THE   CLERGY.  381 

of  our  clergy,  and  the  advance  of  population  in  our 
Commonwealth,  is  truly  distressing.  Let  not  our 
faithful  and  fervent  prayers  be  wanting,  Brethren, 
nor  our  corresponding  judicious  efforts,  that  the  list 
of  our  candidates,  now  much  reduced,  may  be  soon 
swelled  by  the  addition  of  young  men  of  talent,  piety, 
and  devoted  zeal.  What  we  greatly  need  are  labor- 
ing clergymen,  who  are  patient,  self-denying,  and 
indomitable — men  who  can  endure  hardness,  even 
though  it  take  the  form  of  apparent  neglect  or  indif- 
ference— who,  in  meekness,  and  with  all  industry  and 
prudence,  will  adapt  themselves  to  the  peculiar  emer- 
gencies of  the  various  posts  at  which  they  may  be 
called  to  labor,  and  whose  faith  in  the  ultimate 
triumph  of  their  mission  can  outlive  even  a  long  period 
of  privation  and  apparent  uselessness.  Such  men 
never  labor  in  vain ;  and  unfriendly  as  the  soil  of  in- 
terior Pennsylvania  may  seem  to  the  establishment 
or  extension  of  our  principles,  there  are  fields  in  every 
part  of  it  already  white  unto  the  harvest.  But  they 
who  would  reap  these  harvests  must  needs  count  the 
cost.  For  a  time,  some  of  them  must  consent  to 
forego  the  comforts  of  a  married  life  ;  they  must  be 
satisfied  to  live  as  the  mass  of  those  to  whom  they 
minister  live  ;  and,  sowing  in  hope,  they  must  never 
distrust  the  pledge,  that  God's  word,  when  it  goes 
forth  in  its  integrity  and  simplicity,  cannot  return  unto 
Him  void,  but  must  prosper  in  the  thing  whereunto 
He  sends  it.  Its  triumphs  may  be  reserved  till  his 
eyes  who  proclaimed  it  are  sealed  in  death ;  but  none 
the  less  glorious  and  memorable  shall  be  his  reward. 
In  due  time  we  shall  reap  if  we  faint  not. 

When  I  observe  with  what  skill  and  ardor,  at  what 
hazards  often  to  health  and  life,  and  with  what  deli- 
berate and  even  prodigal  sacrifice  of  present  ease  and 
enjoyment,  the  children  of  the  world  devote  them- 
selves to  the  pursuit  of  that  which  must  perish  in  the 
using,  I  cannot  but  fear  that  they  are  wiser  in 
their  generation  than  many  of  us  who  profess  to  be 
children  of  light.    A  like  zeal,  a  like  vigilant  wisdom 


382  APPENDIX  VI. 

and  forecast,  with  the  same  irrepressible,  self-sacrific- 
ing energy,  would  soon  enable  us  to  carry  our  faith 
in  triumph  over  many  obstacles,  before  which  we  are 
now  too  apt  to  stand  appalled,  or  from  which  we  turn 
away  in  dismay. 

But  whilst  I  insist  on  the  necessity  of  increased 
devotion  on  the  part  of  the  clergy,  I  would  not  forget 
that  they  who  preach  the  Gospel  have  a  right  to  live 
of  the  Gospel.  It  is  a  melancholy  fact,  that  some  of 
the  most  useful  clergymen  who  have  left  us  during 
the  past  year,  have  been  constrained  to  do  so  by  the 
entire  inadequacy  of  their  means  of  subsistence.  I 
have  much  fear  that  we  are  destined  to  suffer  still 
severer  losses  from  the  same  cause.  With  these  facts 
forced  upon  me  as  I  travel  over  the  Diocese,  and 
having  myself  tried  in  vain  for  months,  and  even  in 
one  or  two  instances  for  more  than  two  years,  to 
supply  some  vacant  parishes  with  ministerial  services, 
because  I  have  been  unable  to  hold  out  to  men  with 
families,  the  prospect  of  adequate  support, — I  con- 
ceive that  I  should  be  wanting  in  my  duty  if  I  did 
not  entreat  the  renewed  attention  of  the  laity  to  this 
subject.  Where  the  standard  of  compensation  is  high- 
est, there  we  must  expect  that  talent  and  efficiency  will 
be  carried  ;  and  we  cannot  allow  other  dioceses  to 
excel  us  in  this  respect  without  being  in  danger  of 
suffering  a  constant  drain  upon  our  best  and  most 
cherished  resources. 

I  well  know  that  in  some  of  our  parishes,  even  with 
every  effort  which  liberality  could  make,  the  salary 
would  be  meagre  unless  increased  from  without ;  but 
how  rarely  has  liberality  done  its  utmost.  In  how 
many  cases  are  the  claims  of  the  Gospel,  the  interests 
of  the  soul,  postponed,  till  all  the  demands  of  taste 
and  even  caprice  are  gratified,  and  then  a  fraction  of 
the  poor  remains  bestowed,  perhaps  with  a  grudging 
hand,  on  a  stinted  pastor.  Can  we  wonder  if  the 
dews  of  the  Divine  Spirit  are  withheld  from  such 
hearts  and  such  congregations?  Zaccheus  could  give 
half  his  goods  to  feed  the  poor.     Under  the  Mosaic 


SUPPORT  OF  THE  CLERGY.         383 

dispensation  the  divine  law  could  wring  with  inexor- 
able hand  from  every  Jew,  more  than  two-tenths  of 
all  his  income  for  pious  and  charitable  uses.  God 
has  been  pleased  to  lay  on  Christians  no  law  for 
giving  but  the  law  of  love  and  of  a  cheerful  heart ; 
but  what  a  reproach  must  rest  upon  them,  if  they 
abuse  this  indulgence  to  the  injury  of  the  poor,  or  to 
the  withholding  from  the  ministers  of  the  sanctuary, 
of  their  rightful  portion  ! 

Connected  with  the  support  of  the  clergy,  I  would 
mention  two  or  three  measures  which  may  have,  if 
adopted,  a  most  happy  effect.  The  first  is  the  erec- 
tion of  parsonages.  In  cities  and  large  towns  they 
are  less  necessary  ;  but  in  the  country  they  are  all 
but  indispensable.  The  difficulty  of  renting  houses 
in  convenient  situations,  the  uncertainty  whether  they 
can  be  retained,  their  want  of  fitness  to  a  clergyman's 
peculiar  wants  and  resources,  the  additional  expense 
which  they  entail,  are  evils  which  can  hardly  be  ap- 
preciated, except  by  experience ;  and  they  prove  in 
many  cases,  I  am  sure,  the  immediate  reason  why 
parishes  are  relinquished.  If  congregations  would 
have  their  ministers  acquire  a  home  feeling  among 
them,  they  should  see  to  it  that  they  have  a  home^ — 
a  permanent  and  comfortable  one,  at  a  convenient 
distance  from  the  parish  church,  and  that  this  home 
is  kept  in  good  repair.  Let  me  add  that  a  Rector  s 
library  ought,  and  I  trust  in  time  will  come,  to  be 
considered  as  a  necessary  appendage  to  every  parson- 
age and  every  parish.  We  need  an  enlightened  and 
well-furnished  ministry  ;  but  we  cannot  hope  to  have 
it,  unless  the  clergy  have  access  to  good  libraries, 
and  this  access  can  never  be  enjoyed  by  many  of  them 
if  these  libraries  are  to  be  furnished  exclusively  at 
their  own  expense.  For  a  parish  to  gather  such  a 
library  requires  but  a  beginning,  a  little  steady  and 
persevering  attention,  and  the  contribution,  through  a 
course  of  years,  of  sums  which,  though  very  small 
when  divided  among  the  members  of  a  congregation, 


384  APPENDIX   VI. 

"would  be  wholly  beyond  the  reach  of  most  individual 
pastors. 

Another  measure  would,  if  adopted,  do  much,  I 
think,  to  lighten  the  burdens  of  the  clergy.  I  allude 
to  some  provision  hy  the  Church  for  the  education  of 
their  children.  We  have  now  several  admirable 
schools,  both  male  and  female,  connected  with  the 
Church  in  this  diocese ;  and  their  advantages  ought 
to  be  especially  accessible  to  the  children  of  those 
clergymen  whose  means  are  straitened,  who  live  re- 
mote from  schools  of  a  superior  character,  and  whose 
children  must  soon  enter  on  life,  with  no  resources 
but  their  talents  and  their  worth.  I  would  mention 
that  partial  provision  for  the  sons  of  the  clergy  is 
already  made.  These  provisions  need  to  be  enlarged 
and  made  permanent ;  but  what  we  need  now  still 
more,  is  a  corresponding  provision  for  educating  the 
daughters  of  the  clergy.  Arrangements  have  been 
made  at  three  schools,  for  admitting  at  reduced  rates 
those  whose  fathers  receive  inadequate  salaries,  or 
who  are  orphans.  Through  the  generosity  of  a  few 
individuals,  whose  pleasure  is  to  do  good  as  they  have 
opportunity,  I  have  already  received  means  sufficient 
to  place  five  or  six  young  ladies  at  these  schools,  and 
I  pray  God  to  put  it  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  have 
the  ability,  to  enable  me  to  enlarge  the  number. 


(From  the  Address  of  1849.) 

In  reporting  so  many  changes  I  cannot  refrain  from 
reminding  both  the  clergy  and  the  congregations  of 
the  evils  and  inconveniences  to  both  parties,  which 
they  involve.  As  a  means  of  guarding  against  them 
in  some  degree,  I  suggested  in  my  last  address  the 
importance  of  supplying  Parsonages  and  Rectors* 
Libraries^  especially  in  the  rural  parishes,  and  where 
the  salary  paid  in  money  is  inadequate  to  the  addi- 
tional expense  imposed  by  renting  a  house  and  by 
purchasing  books.     There  is  another  measure  which 


SUPPORT  OF  THE  CLERGY.         385 

if  generally  adopted,  would  also  conduce  greatly,  I 
conceive,  to  the  comfort  of  the  Clergy  and  the  welfare 
of  their  families.  In  few  parishes  of  this  country  is 
the  salary  such  that  a  Clergyman  can  hope  to  save 
from  it  any  adequate  provision  for  his  family,  if  he 
should  be  taken  from  them  in  early  or  middle  life. 
From  any  other  source  of  supply,  through  his  own 
efforts,  he  is  cut  off  both  by  public  opinion,  and  by 
the  duties  of  his  profession;  and  yet  the  circumstances 
in  which  he  is  placed  render  early  death  not  impro- 
bable in  respect  to  himself,  and  they  render  the  capa- 
city for  self-support  very  improbable  in  respect  to  his' 
family.  I  would  suggest,  therefore,  that  parishes 
generally  follow  the  course  which  has  been  adopted, 
I  believe,  in  a  few  instances  in  this  city,  of  purchas- 
ing an  endowment  for  the  family  of  their  Clergyman 
in  case  of  his  dying  while  in  their  service. 

A  small  sum  annually  paid  to  the  venerable  Corpora- 
tion for  the  Widows  and  children  of  Clergymen  in  this 
Diocese,  or  to  a  well-conducted  Life  Insurance  Com- 
fany^  would  secure  to  their  heirs-at-law  at  their  death 
a  considerable  amount,  which  in  case  of  the  Corpora- 
tion for  Widows  is  often  increased  by  the  gratuitous  libe- 
rality of  the  Trustees.  Thus,  in  one  of  the  parishes 
of  this  city,  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  nine  dollars 
paid  annually  by  the  Vestry,  entitles  the  family  of 
their  rector,  in  case  of  his  death,  to  the  sum  of  five 
thousand  dollars.  Smaller  payments  would  be  suffi- 
cient in  case  of  feeble  parishes,  and  it  may  well  be 
considered  whether,  in  the  case  of  those  congregations 
whose  means  are  entirely  inadequate  to  an  effort  of 
this  kind,  an  object  is  not  presented,  well  worthy  of 
the  liberality  of  benevolent  individuals  and  societies. 
Were  it  not  that  associations  have  been  multiplied  to 
an  extent  which  by  many  is  deemed  unreasonable,  I 
should  be  disposed  to  urge  the  formation  of  one  to 
promote  the  building  of  Parsonages^  the  furnishing 
of  Hectors'  Libraries,  and  tJie  effecting  of  Life  Insu- 
rances in  behalf  of  parish  clergymen.  Whatever  is 
calculated  to  multiply  the  ties  between  a  Clergyman 

33 


386  APPENDIX   VI. 

and  his  people,  and  to  render  the  tenure  of  the  pas- 
toral office  more  permanent,  is  at  this  time  worthy  of 
all  consideration. 


(From  the  Address  of  1852.) 

The  Hospital  of  the  P.  E.  Church  in  this  city,  the 
conception  and  establishment  of  which  I  adverted  to 
in  my  last  report,  is  not  yet  opened  for  the  reception 
of  patients.  A  valuable  square  of  land  for  a  site, 
however,  has  been  presented,  through  the  sponta- 
neous liberality  of  two  generous  ladies  (sisters),* 
and  as  it  contains  some  buildings  which  can  be 
adapted  to  hospital  purposes,  and  subscriptions  have 
been  received  to  the  amount  of  nearly  $50,000,  it  is 
hoped  that  the  day  is  at  hand  when  the  much-needed 
services  of  this  Institution  will  be  at  the  disposal  of 
the  public. 

In  the  report  which  has  been  made  of  clergymen 
removing  from  one  parish  to  another,  or  retiring  alto- 
gether from  the  Diocese,  the  Convention  will  see  re- 
newed occasion  to  deplore  the  instability  which  marks 
the  pastoral  relation.  I  will  not  attempt  to  specify 
all  the  causes  of  this  instability.  In  some  cases,  it 
may  be  regarded  as  the  fault  of  a  restless  age.  In 
others,  it  must  certainly  be  attributed  to  the  ineffi- 
ciency or  imprudence  of  ministers ;  in  others,  to  the 
unreasonable  and  captious  temper  of  the  people.  De- 
ducting these  cases,  however,  there  will  still  remain 
too  many  in  which  the  parties  profess  the  utmost  mu- 
tual regard  and  satisfaction,  and  the  separation  is 
occasioned  only  by  insufficiency  of  support.  This 
must  be  regarded  as  a  chief  reason  why  so  many  of 
our  parishes,  when  vacant,  find  it  difficult  to  obtain 
a  clergyman ;  and  why,  when  supplied  with  a  zealous 
and  capable  ministry,  so  many  are  obliged  to  relin- 
quish it.  The  number  of  earnest  and  thoroughly  effi- 
cient men  is  inadequate  to  the  demand,  and  they 

*  Miss  Leamy  and  Mrs.  Stout. 


SUPPORT  OF  THE  CLERGY.         387 

will  unavoidably  be  carried,  where  they  who  preach 
the  Gospel  can  live  by  the  Gospel.  Any  diocese  or 
parish,  therefore,  which  is  content  to  maintain  a  rela- 
tively low  standard  of  ministerial  compensation,  will 
have  no  just  cause  to  complain,  if,  in  the  end,  it  find 
itself  indifferently  served.  Nowhere  in  this  country 
are  salaries  likely  to  be  more  than  adequate  to  the 
comfortable  subsistence  of  a  Rector's  family,  in  the 
manner  which  his  own  parish  prescribes. 

In  my  private  communications  with  the  clergy,  I 
constantly  and  earnestly  press  upon  them  the  duty 
of  making  pecuniary  sacrifices  in  their  Master's  ser- 
vice. I  hold  out  the  hope,  too,  that  in  time  these 
sacrifices  will  be  appreciated  by  the  people,  and  will 
either  cease  entirely,  or  be  largely  shared  by  those 
to  whom  they  minister.  But  hope  deferred  maketh 
the  heart  sick.  It  is  not  surprising  that  men  with 
increasing  families,  and  with  no  resource  but  their 
profession,  should  sometimes  tire  of  bearing  so  large 
a  share  of  the  burden,  which  is  not  properly  their  own. 
On  occasions  like  this,  I  should  be  wanting,  I  con- 
ceive, in  my  duty  to  the  laity,  if  even  at  the  risk  of 
being  charged  with  vain  repetitions,  I  did  not  remind 
them  again  and  again  that  the  best  welfare  of  their 
respective  congregations  and  families,  requires  that 
they  should  devise  liberal  things  towards  those,  who, 
on  entering  the  ministry  of  Christ,  cut  themselves  off 
from  secular  pursuits,  and  often  from  almost  all  means 
of  eking  out  a  scanty  salary.  This  duty  is  especially 
imperative  now,  when  the  expense  of  maintaining 
families,  especially  in  large  towns,  has  so  greatly  in- 
creased. I  do  not  plead  for  clergymen  who  are  no- 
toriously unfaithful  and  incompetent.  But  for  those 
who  are  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season  in  doing 
their  duty,  and  who  do  it  efiiciently, — I  may  ask  that 
you  will  remember  them,  and  esteem  them  very  highly 
in  love  for  their  work's  sake.  Withhold  not  more 
than  is  meet,  lest  it  tend  to  poverty.  Be  not  sparing 
of  those  slight  contributions  and  attentions  which  do 
much  to  soothe  a  burdened  heart,  and  which,  where 


388  APPENDIX   VI. 

they  are  the  spontaneous  offering  of  an  affectionate 
people,  often  make,  to  an  otherwise  straitened  lot,  all 
the  difference  between  penury  and  comfort.  As  I 
have  already  more  than  once  intimated,  the  erection 
of  parsonage-houses,  the  establishment  of  Parsons* 
Libraries,  and  assistance  in  the  education  of  his  chil- 
dren, are  three  ways  of  increasing  a  Pastor's  re- 
sources, which  well  deserve  attention,  and  which  will 
often  enlist  support  from  those  who  are  unfriendly  to 
a  direct  increase  of  salary. 

There  is  another  measure  which  has  claims  upon 
our  attention,  because,  while  it  lifts  from  a  minister's 
heart  a  heavy  present  load  of  anxiety,  it  secures,  in 
case  of  his  death,  some  temporal  provision  for  those 
of  his  household, — I  allude  to  Life  Assurance.  I  have 
had  occasion  recently  to  observe,  with  more  care  than 
formerly,  the  administration  of  the  Society  in  thia 
Diocese,  known  as  the  Corporation  for  the  Relief  of 
the  Widows  and  Children  of  Deceased  Clergymen.  I 
feel  bound  to  express  my  conviction  that  there,  more 
safely  and  profitably  than  elsewhere,  can  some  pro- 
spective investment  be  made  for  the  benefit  of  the 
families  of  the  clergy.  In  the  character  of  its  Trus- 
tees, and  in  the  exemplary  care  and  skill  with  which 
its  funds  are  invested  and  managed,  the  assured  have 
a  security  against  fraud  and  other  sources  of  loss, 
which  is  rarely  to  be  found  in  institutions  of  a  more 
secular  character.  The  services  of  the  secretary, 
treasurer,  and  other  ofiicers,  are  rendered  without 
charge  ;  claimants  find  themselves  in  the  hands  of 
friends  and  brethren,  who  cherish  a  generous  concern 
for  their  welfare;  and  the  sums  allowed  to  annuitants 
are  often  increased  gratuitously  much  beyond  any 
amount  to  which  they  would  have  been  entitled  of 
right  and  by  law.  It  is,  therefore,  to  be  lamented, 
that  so  few  congregations  make  for  their  Rector's 
families  a  provision,  which,  at  slight  expense,  would 
form  a  new  and  strong  bond  of  union  between  him 
and  his  people,  and  which,  in  case  of  his  removal  to 
another  parish,  might  cease,  or  be  transferred  to  his 


SUPPORT  OF  THE  CLERGY.         389 

successor.  In  no  way  can  our  parishes  meet  so  easily 
and  acceptably  the  debt  which,  on  the  death  of  a 
faithful  Pastor,  they  always  owe  to  his  destitute 
widow  and  orphans.  By  a  generous  and  thoughtful 
people,  this  debt  will  not  be  forgotten  ;  and  when  they 
come  to  lay  their  minister  in  the  grave,  it  will  surely 
be  some  consolation  to  them  to  remember  that  they 
recognized  it  in  good  time,  and  that  his  labors  were 
lightened  from  year  to  year  by  the  assurance  that  its 
payment  was  placed  beyond  all  human  contingency. 


VII. 

INSTABILITY   OF   THE    PASTORAL   RELATION. 

(From  the  Address  of  1853.) 

The  instability  of  the  pastoral  relation  is  apparent, 
not  only  in  the  removing  of  clergymen  from  one 
diocese  to  another,  but  in  the  many  changes  which 
take  place  within  the  same  diocese.  Twenty-five  of 
our  parishes  have  suffered  the  loss  of  their  minister 
or  assistant  minister  since  we  last  met.  The  evil  be- 
comes still  more  evident  and  alarming  in  proportion 
as  we  observe  its  aggregate  effect  after  a  series  of 
years.  It  is  now  less  than  nine  years  since  I  was 
first  charged  with  the  oversight  of  this  diocese,  and 
during  that  time,  if  we  except  the  parishes  of  Phila- 
delphia County,  there  are  but  twelve  in  the  whole 
diocese,  out  of  more  than  one  hundred,  which  have 
not  lost  their  pastor  once,  twice,  or  thrice.  That  the 
changes  in  Philadelphia  have  been  vastly  less  seems 
to  prove  that  inadequacy  of  support  is  the  main, 
though  certainly  not  the  only  cause  of  these  constant 
and  deplorable  vicissitudes.  In  such  a  condition  of 
things,  it  is  only  wonderful  that  our  progress  has  not 
been  entirely  arrested.     It  argues  much  for  the  hold 


390  APPENDIX   VII. 

which  our  Church  has  upon  the  good  will  of  those 
without,  as  it  is  most  creditable  to  the  zeal  of  those 
within,  that,  during  the  same  brief  period,  more  than 
fifty  churches  have  been  erected,  most  of  which  are 
at  points  not  occupied  before.  But,  with  such  open- 
ings before  us,  what  might  we  not  achieve  if  we  had 
a  stable  ministry,  animated  by  the  consciousness  that 
they  have  the  cordial  support  of  a  generous  and  con- 
siderate laity  ?  How  many  new  enterprises  would 
then  be  conceived  and  inaugurated,  and  once  begun, 
how  many  of  them  would  command  early  success, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  same  minds  and  hands  that 
originated  them  !  Here  is  a  consummation  which  we 
ought  to  keep  steadily  in  view,  and  which  we  can 
reach  in  due  time,  if  the  clergy  and  laity  set  their 
hearts  upon  it.  The  former  should  take  positions 
with  the  resolute  purpose  of  giving  them  a  full  trial, 
and  of  submitting,  if  need  be,  to  a  large  measure  of 
privation  and  self-denial.  They  must  consider,  that 
in  many  a  new  parish  the  burden  of  their  support 
falls  almost  entirely  on  a  small  number  of  persons  of 
limited  means,  and  they  surely  ought  to  be  behind 
none  in  their  economy  and  thrift,  or  in  their  willing- 
ness to  make  sacrifices  for  Christ  and  his  Church, 
Where  there  is  ability,  but  not  the  will  to  support 
them  properly,  they  should  strive  by  afiectionate  zeal 
and  devotion  to  their  spiritual  functions,  to  warm 
their  people  into  sympathy,  or  shame  them  into  con- 
sideration ;  that,  so  they  may  be  moved  to  watch 
over  the  temporal  comfort  of  their  minister  with  some- 
thing of  the  same  wakeful  solicitude  with  which  it  is 
his  pride  to  watch  over  the  souls  which  are  intrusted 
to  him.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  ought  not  the  con- 
gregation to  receive  him  who  is  over  them  in  the  Lord 
as  a  permanent  pastor  and  guide — not  as  a  transient 
visitor,  who  comes  to  be  the  object  of  their  captious 
criticisms,  or  the  victim  of  their  unrelenting  parsi- 
mony ?  Ought  they  not  to  resolve  from  the  begin- 
ning that  it  shall  not  be  their  fault  if  his  heart  is  not 
moved,  and  his  hands  encouraged  to  attempt  great 


INSTABILITY   OF   THE   PASTORAL   RELATION.      391 

things  for  God,  and  for  the  people  more  immediately 
committed  to  his  charge  ?  Ought  they  not,  by  deli- 
cate and  thoughtful  considerations  for  his  material 
wants,  and  for  those  of  his  family,  and  by  the  recog- 
nition of  his  many  trials  and  perplexities, — ought 
they  not,  by  such  means,  to  give  him  constant  assur- 
ance that  his  every  eifort  is  observed  and  appreciated, 
and  that  their  fond  desire  is  that  their  interests  and 
his  shall  be  lastingly  united. 


(From  the  Address  of  1856.) 

.  I  cannot  record  these  changes  without  sadness. 
Added  to  others  which  are  determined  upon,  and 
which  will  be  effected  within  the  present  month,  they 
give  the  startling  fact  that  nearly  one  quarter  of  all 
the  clergy  who  last  year,  at  this  time,  were  in  charge 
of  parishes  or  missionary  stations  in  this  diocese,  will 
have  removed  from  them.  Can  such  a  state  of  things 
consist  with  a  healthy  religious  life  among  our  clergy 
and  people  ?  Can  it  be  continued  without  lamentable 
effects  upon  their  character  and  their  prosperity  ?  It 
is  a  subject  which  demands,  I  conceive,  our  most  ear- 
nest consideration.  Change,  carried  at  this  rate  over 
the  whole  diocese,  would  empty  all  our  parishes  once 
in  every  four  or  five  years.  The  evils  are  by  no 
means  confined  to  the  congregations.  The  usefulness 
of  the  ministry  depends  much  less  upon  temporary  or 
spasmodic  efforts,  than  upon  steady,  long-continued, 
and  manifold  influences,  which  adjust  themselves  to 
the  peculiar  condition  of  a  place  and  congregation, 
and  also  to  the  special  character  and  temperament  of 
individuals.  It  depends  much,  too,  upon  the  confi- 
dence and  affection  with  which  a  pastor  is  regarded, 
and  which  rarely  grow  up  without  protracted  and 
familiar  intercourse,  and  without  a  diligent  attention 
on  his  part,  through  successive  years,  to  the  training 
of  the  young.  His  comfort  and  happiness — especially 
ay  he  advances  in  age — require  that  he  should  have 


392  APPENDIX   VII. 

around  him  known  and  well-tried  friends.  As  a 
preacher,  he  should  have  studious  habits,  and  a  warm 
interest  in  the  spiritual  condition  of  all  his  people ; 
but  it  is  evident  that  neither  of  these  can  be  promoted 
by  frequent  migrations  from  parish  to  parish.  As  a 
pastor,  too,  almost  everything  depends,  under  God, 
on  his  prudence,  on  his  zeal,  and  self-control;  and 
yet,  each  of  these  is  more  likely  to  be  hindered  than 
advanced  by  a  practice  which  facilitates  thq^  escape 
of  the  rash  or  the  remiss  from  the  legitimate  conse- 
quences of  their  faults,  and  darkens,  to  a  faithful 
minister,  his  prospect  of  reaping  the  rich  fruits  of  pa- 
tience, meekness,  and  self-sacrificing  toils.  Do  we  need 
a  ministry  studious,  hopeful,  loving,  prudent,  and  ener- 
getic ?  Let  us  beware  how  we  foster  a  practice  which 
tends  to  make  men  idle,  desponding,  misanthropic, 
reckless.  I  rejoice  to  know,  that  in  spite  of  this  sys- 
tem, and  when  subjected  to  its  most  unrelenting  ope- 
ration, many  of  the  clergy  keep  alive  their  faith  and 
their  zeal.  We  need  not  wonder  that  more  than  a 
few  fail  to  do  so. 

How  much  the  prospect  of  edification  and  of  pro- 
gressive increase  and  improvement  in  congregations, 
must  be  impaired  by  these  frequent  changes,  I  need 
hardly  indicate.  The  hand  that  sows  the  seed  is  the 
one  that  can  best  cherish  and  train  the  young  or  more 
vigorous  plant.  He  who  has  watched  and  prayed,  in 
season  and  out  of  season,  not  only  for  his  collective 
flock,  but  for  particular  families  or  individuals,  is  not 
he,  more  than  a  stranger,  likely  to  speak  to  them  in 
their  sorrows  and  joys,  "the  word  in  season,"  to  sup- 
ply the  care  and  counsel  which  shall  be  fitted  to  their 
several  necessities,  and  draw  them,  with  an  all-per- 
suasive power,  to  the  obedience  of  the  faith  ?  He 
who  takes  the  child  in  his  arms,  and  receives  it  by 
baptism  into  the  Christian  fold,  is  he  not  most  likely 
to  regard  with  affectionate  interest  its  early  Christian 
nurture?  and  he  who,  full  of  hope,  begins  that  work 
of  nurturing,  is  he  not  the  best  qualified  to  carry  it 
forward  from   stage  to  stage  ?      Everything  which 


INSTABILITY   OF   THE   PASTORAL   RELATION.      393 

weakens  the  tenure  of  the  pastor's  hold  upon  his  flock, 
exposes  the  dearest  and  most  important  part  of  his 
work  to  be  depreciated  or  neglected,  while  it  causes 
undue  importance  to  be  attached  to  public  and  ora- 
torical efforts.  Whoever  ministers  in  sacred  things 
should  carry  with  him,  everywhere,  all  a  shepherd's 
heart,  and  should  lightly  esteem  nothing  which  can 
contribute,  in  any  way,  to  the  spiritual  welfare  of  any 
member  or  portion  of  his  flock.  He  may  be  a  mis- 
sionary at  large,  itinerating  over  extensive  tracts  of 
country,  and  yet  be  in  many  respects  a  pastor  to 
those  for  whom  he  labors,  and  in  a  course  of  years 
can  acquire  an  aptitude  in  dealing  with  their  spiritual 
wants  which  few  strangers  can  have. 

It  is  true,  that  a  large  and  powerful  religious  body, 
whose  zeal  and  activity  we  might  well  emulate,  has 
incorporated  frequent  periodical  rupture  of  the 
pastoral  tie  as  a  prominent  element  of  their  system. 
It  must  be  observed,  however,  that  the  sagacious 
founder  of  that  system,  never  proposed  to  establish  an 
independent  church,  but  merely  a  missionary  organi- 
zation for  the  instruction  and  reformation  of  multi- 
tudes whom  the  Established  Church  of  England  had 
consigned  to  neglect ;  that  he  always  inculcated  alle- 
giance to  the  communion  of  that  church  as  a  duty, 
and  that  the  imperfect  training  and  education  of  the 
teachers  whom  he  sent  forth,  made  their  frequent 
translation  from  one  sphere  of  labor  to  another  an 
obvious — but,  as  perhaps  a  larger  experience  has 
shown — a  doubtful  expedient.  Neither  of  these  con- 
siderations apply  to  our  Church,  except  in  the  case  of 
clergymen  who  have  received  a  flagrantly  defective 
education,  and  in  theirs  it  may  be  doubted  whether, 
with  the  early  scholastic  culture  which  all  enjoy 
among  us,  the  prevailing  intellectual  activity  of  our 
people,  and  the  means  of  vigorous  self-culture  which 
any  one  can  command,  it  would  not  be  better  to 
animate  them  to  the  work  of  persevering  study  than 
to  deprive  them  of  one  of  the  strongest  incentives 
to  it.     The  necessity  of  ministering,  year  after  year, 


394  APPENDIX   VII. 

to  the  same  minds  tends  to  rouse  us  to  the  work 
of  enlarging  our  stores  of  knowledge  and  thought. 
An  effect  the  directly  opposite  must  result  from  a 
system  which  enables  us,  just  as  we  have  exhausted 
our  slender  stock  of  material  in  one  place,  to  transfer 
it,  in  all  its  triteness,  to  another.  With  us,  moreover, 
that  system  is  divested  of  all  that  has  tended  to  give 
it  efficiency  among  our  Methodist  brethren.  They 
distribute  their  preachers  upon  the  nicest  principles 
of  the  division  of  labor,  detailing  to  each  field  the 
man  who  is  best  adapted  for  it ;  whereas,  with  us,  the 
distribution  is  too  often  determined  by  little  save 
accident  or  caprice. 

I  have  sketched  but  part  of  the  evils  of  a  practice, 
which  is,  I  fear,  steadily  gaining  ground  among  us. 
I  by  no  means  maintain  that  in  all  cases,  clergymen 
should  be  fastened  for  life  to  the  posts  at  which  they 
are  first  placed.  He  who,  in  a  contracted  sphere,  has 
qualified  himself  for  adorning  and  blessing  one  much 
more  extended  and  exalted,  ought,  alike  for  his  own 
and  for  the  Gospel's  sake,  to  be  advanced  to  it.  He 
who,  by  idleness  or  persevering  indiscretions,  or  moral 
perversity,  fails  to  fill  usefully  and  creditably  any 
sphere,  be  -it  large  or  small,  has  no  right  to  demand 
impunity  from  the  consequences  of  his  fault.  I  only 
maintain  that  change,  especially  frequent  and  hasty 
change,  ought  not  to  be  installed  as  our  rule,  that  it 
ought  rather  to  be  regarded  as  an  evil,  an  exceptional 
necessity,  which  nothing  but  a  greater  evil,  either  to 
the  Church  at  large  or  to  a  particular  congregation 
or  clergyman,  can  justify.  Both  parties  to  the  pasto- 
ral relation  should  enter  upon  it  with  the  hope  and 
the  presumption  that  it  is  to  be  permanent.  The 
duties  which  pertain  to  it  are  then  most  likely  to  be 
discharged  on  both  sides  earnestly  and  thoroughly. 
The  duty  and  the  expediency  of  pursuing  a  course 
which  is  calculated  to  overcome  difficulties,  and  to 
promote  mutual  concessions  and  co-operation,  will 
become  evident.     Grounds  of  complaint,  when  they 


INSTABILITY   OF   THE   PASTORAL   RELATION.      395 

really  exist,  will  be  stated  to  the  delinquent  party 
frankly  and  kindly,  in  order  to  be  removed  ;  and  in- 
compatibilities which,  in  the  first  instance,  might  have 
seemed  to  be  insurmountable,  will  gradually  disappear. 
The  labors  of  the  minister,  whether  in  public  or  from 
house  to  house,  will  be  prized  in  proportion  as  they 
exhibit  more  and  more  of  zeal,  wisdom,  and  power, 
and  the  minister  perceiving  this,  will  feel  himself 
constantly  impelled  to  reach  a  higher  and  higher  ex- 
cellence as  a  thinker,  a  preacher,  and  a  pastor. 

This  prevailing  instability  in  the  relation  of  pastor 
and  people,  results  in  part,  doubtless,  from  the  rest- 
lessness which  characterizes  our  age,  and  which 
impels  so  many,  especially  in  our  own  land,  to  neglect 
the  blessings  they  have,  in  pursuit  of  others  that  they 
know  not  of.  It  would  be  well  if  Christians,  both  in 
their  individual  and  collective  capacity,  ofi'ered  a 
more  steady  and  determined  resistance  to  this  spirit 
when  it  seeks  change  merely  for  change's  sake.  In 
few  ways  can  this  be  done  more  effectually  than  by 
exhibiting  examples  of  stability  and  contentment  in 
our  ecclesiastical  relations.  In  this  way  we  may 
often  demonstrate  that  real  progress  is  the  work  of 
time  and  of  even  humble  efforts  steadily  applied, 
rather  than  of  random  and  vagrant  exertions  however 
powerful.  The  attachment,  too,  which  insensibly 
springs  up  between  a  people  and  the  minister  who 
marries  them,  baptizes  their  children,  buries  their 
dead,  and  who,  in  all  their  trials  and  successes,  is 
ever  at  hand  through  long  years  to  counsel  and  to 
sympathize,  is  often  the  one  tie,  when  all  others  fail, 
which  binds  them  to  their  ancient  homes  and  their 
fathers'  sepulchres. 

A  thorough  cure  for  this  evil  must  begin  with  the 
clergy.  An  opinion  prevails,  much  too  widely,  that 
we  consider  ourselves  entitled  to  exchange  one  field 
of  labor  for  another,  whenever,  by  doing  so,  we  can 
promote  our  own  temporal  interest  or  comfort.  Since 
the  tie  which  connects  a  pastor  and  his  people  is  the 


396  APPENDIX  vir. 

result,  in  the  first  instance,  of  a  contract,  if  one 
party  assert  the  right  to  terminate  it  whenever  it  may 
suit  their  taste,  convenience,  or  pecuniary  interest,  it 
is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  a  corresponding  right 
will  not,  sometimes,  be  asserted  by  the  other  party. 
If  the  clergy  seek  relief  and  exhilaration  by  a  fre- 
quent change  of  cures,  it  may  be  expected  that 
parishes  will  catch  the  infection  of  such  an  example, 
and  be  desirous  of  the  excitement  which  a  new,  and, 
as  it  is  imagined,  a  more  attractive  preacher  may 
supply.  If  a  minister  suffer  it  to  be  understood  that 
he  is  ready,  at  the  shortest  notice,  to  quit  his  people 
for  his  own  assumed  benefit,  because  everything  is 
not  to  his  liking  among  them,  or  because  his  position 
involves  severe  labor  or  privation,  he  should  not 
wonder  that  his  own  real  or  supposed  imperfections 
should  be  alleged  as  a  sufiicient  reason  why  he  should 
be  ready  to  retire  for  their  presumed  advantage.  In 
a  country  where  congregations  are  invested  directly, 
or  through  their  representatives,  with  nearly  the 
whole  power  of  selecting  and  settling  their  pastors,  it 
is  idle  to  expect  that  they  will  in  no  case  claim  the 
power  to  unsettle  them,  if  they  are  invited  to  it  by 
the  prevailing  practice  of  the  clergy  themselves. 

To  sustain  and  strengthen  many  of  our  parishes 
and  missions,  requires  much,  both  of  effort  and  of 
self-denial,  from  clergy  and  laity.  It  is  due  to  the 
latter,  to  say,  that,  in  many  cases,  they  are  not  want- 
ing. Inadequate  as  may  be  the  support  afforded  by 
many  congregations,  it  is  but  justice  to  some  of  their 
members  to  affirm,  that  they  become  behind  few 
clergymen  in  the  sacrifices  which  they  cheerfully 
endure  for  the  Gospel's  sake.  In  proportion  as  we 
are  patient,  persevering,  and  abundant  in  zealous, 
loving  labor,  in  the  same  proportion  may  we  expect 
to  find  the  laity  incited  through  God's  blessing  to 
imitate  our  example.  Our  Saviour's  ministry  was 
not  one  that  shunned  the  humble  and  the  poor.  He 
never  shfank  from  want,  or  from  personal  hardships. 
And  the  power  which  the  Apostles  wielded  over  the 


INSTABILITY   OF  THE    PASTORAL   RELATION.      397 

hearts  of  men,  was  it  not  largely  due  to  their  indif- 
ference to  personal  comfort,  and  the  cheerful  alacrity 
with  which  they  faced  any  and  every  difficulty,  if  they 
might  only  win  souls  to  Christ  ?  Souls  are  still  to  be 
won.  Christ's  great  work  is  still  unfinished,  and  we 
may  not  hope  to  rouse  the  people  to  help  it  forward, 
generously  and  heroically,  unless  as  patterns  of  self- 
denying,  self-sacrificing  zeal,  we,  the  ministers  of  the 
cross,  lead  the  way.  There  are  instances,  doubtless,  in 
which  congregations  move  harshly  and  hastily  against 
their  pastors.  But  they  are  not  common.  One  who  is 
about  his  master's  business,  who,  in  industry,  assidu- 
ity, and  skill,  rivals  those  who  win  success  in  other 
callings,  rarely  fails  to  command  the  respect  and 
aifection  of  his  flock.  If  he  be  greatly  wanting  in 
either  of  these  qualities,  he  must  not  expect  to  com- 
mand high  consideration.  And  if  failure  wait  upon 
his  ministry,  he  ought  always  to  begin,  it  seems  to 
me,  by  suspecting  himself — and  by  searching  for  the 
cause  of  his  ill  success  in  some  deficiency  of  his  own. 
If  he  cannot  find  it  there — if,  after  a  rigid  and  candid 
review  of  his  work,  he  cannot  accuse  himself  as  want- 
ing in  either  of  the  respects  just  mentioned,  and  if 
he  is  certain  that  the  standard  by  which  he  tries  him- 
self, is  a  true  and  lofty  one — then,  and  not  till  then, 
will  he  be  warranted  in  casting  the  whole  blame  of 
his  failure  upon  his  flock. 

A  soil  apparently  the  most  stubborn  and  thankless, 
often  gives  way  suddenly,  and  in  a  manner  the  most 
cheering,  before  the  patient  laborer.  For  many  weary 
years  it  may  have  tried  his  faith  and  courage.  Often 
he  has  been  tempted  to  fly  from  it  in  despair,  think- 
ing that  the  heavens  are  shut  up  forever — that  the 
clouds  will  drop  down  no  dew.  But  he  knows  not 
the  counsels  of  the  Most  High.  All  the  while,  if  he 
be  faithful,  the  seed  has  been  vivifying.  The  gentle 
influences  of  the  Spirit  have  distilled  silently  but 
effectually,  and  at  an  hour  perhaps  when  he  least 
expects,  the  sure  presage  of  a  rich  harvest  is  beheld. 
Liberality,  enterprise,  and  energy  are  infused  at  the 

34 


398  APPENDIX  VII. 

same  time  into  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  what  long 
seemed  a  sickly  and  dependent  parish,  becomes  in- 
stinct with  an  intensely  vigorous  life.  Within  the 
last  ten  years  this  has  been  the  case  with  more  than 
one  of  our  congregations  ;  but  they  are  not  congre- 
gations that  have  been  subjected  to  a  frequent  change 
of  pastors. 

Some  of  the  clergy  find  themselves  sorely  strait- 
ened and  discouraged  by  the  very  limited  number  of 
those  whom  they  can  claim  as  parishioners.  The 
eflfect  on  our  spirits,  and  on  aspirations  and  efforts 
after  a  higher  culture,  of  having  too  little  work,  is 
often  worse  than  to  be  overtasked.  To  study  closely, 
prepare  sermons  with  a  generous  and  laborious  care, 
and  be  active  as  pastors  or  missionaries,  is  certainly 
not  easy  in  some  of  our  smaller  cures.  Yet  there  are 
few  fields  which  do  not  admit  of  almost  indefinite  en- 
largement, if  their  incumbents  will  but  consider  them- 
selves as  sent  to  all  within  their  reach  who  are  as 
sheep  without  a  shepherd.  Both  in  town  and  country 
there  are  multitudes  of  these,  and  when  they  cannot 
be  brought  to  church,  they  can  often  be  reached,  with 
the  happiest  effect  on  minister  and  people,  through 
personal  intercourse,  and  through  religious  services 
in  school-houses  and  private  dwellings.  Much  is 
being  done  in  this  way  already ;  but  there  is  room 
for  a  material  increase  in  a  kind  of  labor  which  so 
pre-eminently  accords  with  the  ministry  of  Christ  and 
his  apostles,  and  which  is  so  peculiarly  fitted  to  pour 
a  new  life  into  the  hearts  of  the  clergy.  It  ought 
also  to  be  remembered,  that  small  parishes,  with  light 
duty,  afford  to  the  clergy  those  opportunities  for  severe 
study,  and  for  gaining  pastoral  efiiciency,  through 
which  they  can  become  qualified  for  the  more 
arduous  and  honorable  posts  of  the  profession.  One 
reason  why  we  find  it  so  difficult  to  fill  these  posts, 
lies,  I  am  persuaded,  in  the  fact  that  our  younger 
clergy  are  not,  as  a  general  rule,  training  themselves 
to  a  higher  and  higher  efiiciency,  with  that  systematic 
and  studious  industry  which  would  be  cherished  by 
more  stable  pastoral  relations. 


LAY  CO-OPERATION.  399 

VIII. 

LAY  CO-OPERATION. 

(From  the  Address  of  1857.) 

I  had  occasion  last  year  to  ask  special  attention  to 
the  prevailing  instability  of  the  pastoral  relation,  as 
indicated  both  by  changes  within  the  Diocese,  and  by 
the  removal  of  clergymen  from  it.  I  regret  to  state 
that  the  year  just  closed  does  not  indicate  the  im- 
provement in  this  respect  that  I  had  hoped.  Consi- 
derations were  then  presented,  and  applied  perhaps 
too  exclusively  to  the  clergy,  which  need  not  be  dwelt 
upon  again  at  this  time.  But  I  ought  to  repeat  here 
what  I  have  intimated  or  directly  stated  on  many 
former  occasions,  and  that  is,  that  the  responsibility 
for  these  changes  is  shared  largely  by  the  congrega- 
tions. One  great  cause — the  inadequacy  of  support — 
might,  in  many  instances,  be  obviated,  if  the  people 
were  more  in  earnest,  and  would  bestow  upon  the 
subject  the  thought  and  effort  which  it  so  clearly 
merits.  It  is  sad,  indeed,  to  see  the  open  hand  with 
which  money  is  lavished  on  dress  and  furniture,  on 
expensive  amusements,  on  personal  indulgences,  and 
on  political  campaigns,  while  it  is  given  grudgingly 
to  maintain  and  extend  the  Faith,  which  we  profess 
to  regard  as  involving  most  intimately  the  welfare  of 
our  country,  the  best  hopes  of  our  families,  and  the 
salvation  of  our  immortal  souls.  The  present  aspect 
of  our  Christianity  in  this  respect,  ought,  surely,  to 
excite  serious  concern.  Our  prayers,  example,  and 
efforts  are  needed.  Brethren,  to  stay  the  progress  of 
luxury  and  worldly  conformity,  and  to  reproduce  a 
piety  which,  without  asceticism  or  moroseness,  finds 
its  delight  in  giving  rather  than  receiving,  and  in 
living  for  that  which  will  not  perish  in  the  using. 

Even  where  ministerial  support  is  not  withheld,  it 
is  sometimes  given  so  irregularly,  or  is  accompanied 


400  APPENDIX   VIII. 

with  so  little  evidence  of  considerate  and  affectionate 
regard,  that  a  pastor's  spirit  is  paralyzed  for  want  of 
apparent  sympathy.  It  should  be  remembered  that 
there  is  enough  in  the  condition  of  many  of  our  clergy 
to  chill  hope  and  enthusiasm,  and  repress  energy,  and 
that  he  does  much  to  breathe  new  life  and  power  into 
their  hearts  who  bestows  words  of  encouragement, 
and  renders  little  offices  of  kindness.  The  spiritual 
culture  of  the  people^  too,  is  in  no  way  more  promoted 
than  by  their  regarding  themselves  as  fellow-helpers 
of  the  clergy,  and  endeavoring,  with  proper  motives, 
to  open  the  way  for  their  labors  in  various  spheres, 
and  dividing  with  them  the  burden  of  such  labors. 
This  co-operation,  so  essential  to  a  clergyman's  wel- 
fare and  efficiency,  and  so  useful  to  all,  comes  too  ex- 
clusively, where  it  is  extended,  from  the  women  of  a 
congregation.  For  many  lay-ministrations  they  are 
undoubtedly  pre-eminently  fitted;  but  there  are  very- 
few  in  which  men  cannot  share,  or  in  which,  by 
sharing,  they  would  not  be  greatly  edified  and  blessed. 
Christianity  was  surely  not  given  from  Heaven  merely 
to  bless  women  and  children  ;  nor  are  they  the  agents, 
through  whom  alone  its  ambassadors  are  to  spread 
its  power  over  society,  and  over  the  world.  So  long 
as  those  of  the  sterner  sex  delegate  to  their  sisters  all 
earnest  activity  in  this  behalf,  so  long  will  they  ex- 
clude the  peculiar  blessings  of  the  Gospel  from  their 
own  hearts,  and  by  their  example  do  irreparable  harm 
to  its  proper  influence  over  mankind.  Gifts,  prayers, 
the  hearing  of  the  word,  and  doing  good  as  we  have 
opportunity  with  and  through  the  pastors  of  Christ's 
flock, — all  these  are  needed  in  order  that  we  may 
save  ourselves  and  others.  A  father  who  recommends 
an  interest  in  the  Church,  and  in  its  welfare,  to  his 
wife  and  children,  but  exhibits  practically  none  him- 
self, ought  not  to  wonder  that  his  example  is  more 
authoritative  than  his  precepts. 


\ 


DIOCESAN   MISSIONS,   ETC.  401 


IX. 

DIOCESAN  MISSIONS,   ETC. 
(From  the  Address  of  1857.) 

In  considering  tbe  question  of  ministerial  support, 
it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  in  many  of  the  interior 
towns  of  this  commonwealth,  our  Church  has  been  but 
lately  established,  that  most  of  these  towns  are  small 
as  compared  with  corresponding  ones  in  the  Middle 
and  Northern  States;  and  that  the  resources  of  many 
of  the  more  substantial  people  having  been  absorbed  in 
earlier  congregations,  our  parishes  must  of  necessity 
long  remain  feeble.  Yet  such  towns  furnish  the  only 
permanent  centres  of  an  active  and  diffusive  influence. 
To  take  a  position  in  many  of  them,  and  maintain  it, 
becomes  a  necessity,  if  we  would  ultimately  see  our 
Church  bearing  its  proper  part  in  the  Christian  in- 
struction and  edification  of  the  whole  population  of 
the  State. 

But  all  this  is  impossible,  unless  aid  be  given  from 
without ;  and  hence  the  vast  importance  of  our  Dio- 
cesan Missions,  and  of  conducting  them  in  a  spirit  of 
enterprise  and  unflinching  faith.  In  respect  to  the 
scattered  members  of  our  communion,  and  also  in 
respect  to  many  others,  there  is  not  less  spiritual  des- 
titution in  much  of  Pennsylvania,  than  in  the  new 
States  of  the  West.  From  many  of  our  towns  and 
rural  districts  there  is,  moreover,  a  large  migration 
every  year  to  those  States,  of  our  best  population,  so 
that  while  many  of  our  congregations  are  being  greatly 
weakened,  they  supply  to  distant  places  the  materials 
for  forming  others,  and  often  for  handsomely  sustain- 
ing them.  From  the  central  and  western  part  of  this 
State,  the  exodus  is  now  immense,  and  the  effect  upon 
our  clergy  and  people  who  remain  behind,  is  in  the 
same  proportion  disheartening.  This,  then,  is  hardly 
the  time  for  severe  retrenchment  in  this  department 
of  our  efforts,  and  any  rule  of  reduction  in  missionary 
stipends  which  we  adopt,  ought  not  to  overlook  the 
34* 


402  APPENDIX   IX. 

peculiarities  of  different  fields.  In  towns  which  are 
rapidly  growing,  it  may  after  a  short  time  be  well  to 
insist  that  the  contributions  of  the  parish  shall,  each 
year,  bear  a  larger  and  larger  proportion  to  the  mis- 
sionary allowance,  while  in  towns  that  remain  station- 
ary or  decline,  the  unbending  application  of  the  same 
rule  might  be  ruinous.  Yet  if  an  established  parish, 
after  being  long  aided,  is  materially  reduced  in 
strength,  or  entirely  stationary,  it  can  hardly  claim 
to  engross  permanently  the  whole  time  of  a  mission- 
ary. The  door  is  opening  wide  in  many  other  parts 
of  the  diocese.  The  development  of  our  material  re- 
sources swells  the  population  rapidly  in  some  districts, 
while  in  others  it  remains  stationary  or  decreases,  and 
it  is  evident  that  wherever  population  goes,  especially 
in  its  more  compact  form,  there  the  services  of  the 
sanctuary  should  follow.  Add  to  this,  that  the  num- 
ber of  our  clergy,  well  fitted  for  the  stirring  work  of 
church  extension,  does  not  increase  as  rapidly  as  the 
demand  for  them,  and  that  not  a  few  of  the  more  en- 
terprising are  being  attracted  westward, — and  we  see 
additional  reason  for  husbanding  our  clerical  force. 
During  the  last  year,  I  have  added  seventeen  to  the 
ranks  of  our  Diaconate  by  ordination,  and  yet  the 
whole  number  of  clergymen  in  active  employment 
will  not  be  increased  by  half  that  number. 

Under  such  circumstances,  what  is  our  duty  ?  Is 
it  to  abandon  hastily  any  position  once  deliberately 
taken,  or  to  abstract  from  it  that  support  without 
which  it  must  become  utterly  weak  ?  Is  it  to  con- 
clude that  a  mission,  because  it  exhibits  little  appa- 
rent increase  from  one  year  to  another,  is  therefore 
wholly  inefficient  ?  Feeble  as  it  is,  it  may  have  been 
sending  to  other  dioceses,  or  to  other  parts  of  our  own, 
some  of  their  most  valuable  people.  In  helping  to 
sustain  effective  ministrations  at  home,  we  are  helping 
to  provide  them  abroad.  In  no  way,  perhaps,  can  we 
so  well  leaven  the  whole  mass  of  our  extended  and 
extending  population,  as  by  leavening  that  which  is 
more  immediately  committed  to  us  by  the  great  Head 


DIOCESAN   MISSIONS,    ETC.  408 

of  the  Church — that  with  which  we  arehest  acquainted, 
and  for  which  we  are  most  directly  accountable. 

While  our  general  missions,  then,  are  cherished,  let 
not  those  which  belong  to  our  own  diocese  be  suflered 
to  languish.  Rather  let  them  be  prosecuted  more  en- 
thusiastically and  with  a  larger  liberality.  Could  the 
members  of  this  Convention  go  with  me  throughout 
this  great  State,  and  observe  as  I  do  places  teeming 
with  population,  which  but  a  short  time  since  were 
solitudes — could  they  pass  from  one  mining  village  to 
another,  in  which  there  is  neither  place  of  worship, 
nor  minister  of  Christ,  of  any  name — could  they 
follow  those  of  our  communion,  who  are  now  exiled 
from  their  native  seats,  here  scattered  over  a  wide 
and  almost  unhabitated  district,  there  gathered  into 
a  little  colony  congenial  in  origin  and  tastes — could 
they  visit  places  where  one  or  two  persons,  and  they 
perhaps  by  no  means  rich,  are  expected  to  bear  the 
entire  burden  of  supporting  the  Church — could  they 
hear  what  I  hear  of  the  intense  longing  for  her  ser- 
vices of  those  who  love  the  Church,  or  of  those  who 
desire  to  know  her — could  they  know  the  sickness  of 
heart  which  they  experience  who  have  long  been 
bereft  of  those  services,  or  who  tremble  at  the  pros- 
pect of  being  deprived  of  them,  and  then — could 
they  see,  as  I  see,  the  great  work,  which  is  being  gra- 
dually and  unostentatiously  achieved  by  our  Sunday- 
schools,  and  Bible-classes,  by  our  public  ministrations, 
and  our  labors  from  house  to  house,  how  often,  after 
being  surrounded  by  religious  strife  and  fermentation, 
our  clergy  toiling  on  patiently,  avoiding  controversy, 
and  waiting  on  God,  are  at  length  left  in  sole  posses- 
sion of  the  field — and  beyond  what  is  seen,  could  we 
trace  those  who  have  gone  forth  to  bear  the  principles 
of  order,  sobriety,  and  domestic  piety,  to  regions  that 
most  need  them,  and  could  we  observe  how  they  and 
their  children,  and  their  children's  children,  become 
centres  of  a  holy  influence,  upholding  liberty,  as  pro- 
tected by  law,  and  law  as  animated  by  the  true  spirit 


404  APPENDIX   IX. 

of  liberty — after  such  a  survey  I  would  willingly  leave 
it  with  you  to  decide  what  policy  we  ought  to  pursue. 
But  while  I  would  earnestly  contend  for  the  in- 
crease of  our  missionary  work  in  this  diocese,  I  am  by 
no  means  prepared  to  say  that  we  might  not  improve, 
in  some  respects,  its  mode  of  operation.  But  a  limited 
number  of  the  parishes  in  the  diocese  seem  to  contri- 
bute ;  and  in  some  of  them,  the  means  taken  to  secure 
an  effective  and  abiding  interest  in  the  subject,  and 
to  enlist  the  prayers  of  the  faithful,  bear  but  a  small 
proportion  to  the  magnitude  and  difficulty  of  the  work, 
or  to  the  ability  of  the  people.  The  funds  collected 
are  applied  through  two  societies,  neither  of  which  is 
connected  with  the  Convention  of  the  diocese,  though 
both  of  them  evince  a  laudable  disposition  to  co-ope- 
rate with  the  episcopal  authority.  But  the  machinery 
in  both  is  somewhat  cumbrous;  and  instances  are  not 
uncommon  in  which  the  services  of  valuable  clergymen 
could  be  secured,  if  the  Bishop  were  able  to  promptly 
pledge  support  from  either  society,  but  which,  for  the 
want  of  such  promptitude,  are  irreparably  lost.  It 
cannot  be  denied,  too,  that  with  all  the  courtesy  and 
Christian  consideration  which  is  received  from  both 
these  societies,  and  which  is  here  gladly  acknowledged, 
the  tendency  is  to  install  three  centres  of  authority 
in  the  missionary  w^ork  of  the  diocese,  instead  of  one 
— centres  which  might  not,  in  all  hands,  be  disposed 
to  move  in  concert,  or  even  on  any  principle  of  just 
subordination.  So  long  as  I  live,  I  do  not  apprehend 
serious  difficulty  from  the  relations  subsisting  between 
these  societies  and  the  episcopate,  though  I  can  hardly 
imagine  a  state  of  things  more  calculated  to  tie  a 
bishop's  hands,  or  to  embarrass  that  part  of  his  work 
which  relates  more  immediately  to  church  extension. 
But  I  have  confidence  in  the  honest  intentions  of 
those  who  are  interested  in  both  institutions.  I  ap- 
preciate differences  of  opinion  and  practice  which 
make  cordial  co-operation  more  or  less  difficult,  and 
I  am  not  anxious  to  add  to  my  own  cares  or  respon- 
sibility by  divesting  others  of   a  share  which  they 


405 

assume  without  the  least  compensation,  and  hear  at 
great  personal  inconvenience,  simply  out  of  love  for 
the  Church.  One  of  the  practical  difficulties  to  which 
I  have  referred,  might,  I  think,  be  obviated  in  part, 
if  not  entirely,  by  a  slight  modification.  As  cases 
must  arise  in  which  measures  ought  to  be  taken 
promptly  if  at  all,  it  might  be  of  great  advantage  if 
the  corresponding  secretary,  or  some  other  officer  of 
each  society,  were  empowered  to  act  in  a  summary 
manner  in  conjunction  with  the  episcopal  authority, 
pledging,  of  course,  by  his  action  only,  those  whom  he 
represents,  and  leaving  that  action  to  be  reviewed 
either  by  the  executive  committee,  or  by  the  board  of 
managers.  In  some  cases,  the  co-operation  of  but 
one  need  be  sought,  while  there  are  others  in  which 
the  co-operation  of  both  societies  through  their  repre- 
sentative in  the  same  undertaking  might  be  on  every 
account  desirable.  It  is  believed  that  the  better  these 
functionaries  become  acquainted  with  each  other,  and 
the  more  frequently  they  act  together,  the  more  easy 
will  ultimate  union  become.  To  render  such  a  pro- 
vision effective,  the  treasurer  of  each  society  ought 
always  to  have  funds  on  hand,  or  in  certain  prospect, 
and  the  officer  deputed  to  co-operate  with  the  Bishop 
should  be  restricted  to  a  certain  sum,  beyond  which 
his  pledge  should  not  extend.  These  hints  are  in- 
tended, of  course,  for  the  consideration  of  the  societies 
not  directly  of  his  body. 

In  respect  to  the  principles  on  which  missionary 
aid  in  this  diocese  should  be  raised  and  distributed, 
the  following  are  suggested : 

(a.)  That  the  whole  sum  to  be  raised  annually  in 
the  diocese  be  an  increase  over  that  of  the  preceding 
year. 

(h.)  That  nascent  parishes,  judiciously  located  and 
likely  to  become  self-supporting,  have  a  higher  claim 
than  those  which  have  been  long  aided  ;  and  that 
those  districts  of  the  State  in  which  population  is 
rapidly  increasing  should,  on  the  same  principle — 
other  things  being  equal — receive  more  attention  than 


406  APPENDIX   IX. 

those  in  which  the  population  is  stationary  or  declin- 

(c.)  That  in  the  case  of  stationary  or  declining 
towns  or  parishes,  it  is  due  to  the  clergy,  their  proper 
support  and  efficiency,  and  the  claims  of  the  whole 
diocese,  that  if  practicable,  such  cures,  if  dependent  on 
missionary  aid,  be  united  with  others  in  the  vicinity, 
and  that  the  proportion  of  service  which  each  receives 
shall  be  determined  by  the  efforts  which  it  makes  for 
the  clergyman's  support. 

(d.)  That  the  diocese  be  divided  into  four  sections, 
in  each  of  which  an  itinerant  or  district  missionary/ 
shall  be  stationed ;  one  to  be  supported  by  the  Ad- 
vancement Society  in  connection  with  the  people  of 
that  district, — a  second  in  like  manner  by  the  Dio- 
cesan Missionary  Society,  the  two  remaining  by  the 
Bishop  and  such  persons  as  are  disposed  to  aid  him 
in  his  work.  The  designation  of  the  fields  in  which 
these  district  missionaries  shall  labor  to  be  made  by 
lot. 

(e.)  That  in  each  of  these  districts  an  efficient  sys- 
tem of  lay  agency,  both  voluntary  and  paid,  be  esta- 
blished in  connection  with  Mission  Sunday-schools. 
It  should  be  understood,  of  course,  that  such  itinerat- 
ing missionaries  or  ministers  at  large  be  confined  to 
labors  without  the  cures  of  clergymen  residing  within 
their  respective  districts,  their  duty  being  the  supply- 
ing of  vacant  parishes,  and  officiating  where  parishes 
are  not  yet  organized. 

It  must  also  be  understood  that,  in  fixing  stipends 
for  new  missionary  stations,  and  in  increasing  or 
diminishing  those  paid  to  old  ones,  no  invariable  rule 
can  be  established,  but  only  such  as  will  bear  some 
modification,  in  view  of  peculiar  emergencies. 

(/.)  That  in  extending  the  Church  to  new  places, 
land  enough  should  be  acquired  for  a  Sunday-school 
building,  a  parsonage,  and  a  church  ;  and  that  in  a 
town  whose  future  is  involved  in  much  uncertainty,  it 
is  always  most  safe  to  begin  with  the  erection  of  cheap 
and  plain  buildings,  which  can  be  used  at  first  both 


CHURCH   BUILDINGS   AND   SERVICES.  407 

for  worship  and  school  purposes,  but  which,  should 
God  crown  the  undertaking  with  success,  may  be 
followed  by  a  proper  church  structure. 

Some  places  are  found  not  to  need  expensive  edi- 
fices; and  their  cost  had  better  be  applied  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  ministry. 

[g.)  That,  in  many  cases,  it  is  better  to  strengthen 
and  encourage  positions  already  taken,  than  to  occupy 
new  ones.  Much  of  our  influence  for  good  depends 
upon  steady  perseverance  and  a  character  for  sta- 
bility. 

I  have  so  often  dwelt  upon  the  duty  of  erecting 
parsonages,  in  connection  with  village  and  country 
churches,  that  I  refer  to  it  now  only  because  experi- 
ence forces  upon  me  an  increasing  sense  of  its  import- 
ance. In  some  parishes  no  house,  suitable  in  character 
and  situation,  can  be  hired  on  any  terms :  in  others, 
to  find  one,  is  extremely  difiicult  and  expensive ;  and 
in  others  again  the  precarious  tenure  by  which  such 
a  house  is  held,  and  the  suddenness  with  which  the 
occupant  is  liable  to  be  removed,  often  leads  a  clergy- 
man to  seek  a  more  secure  and  independent  position. 
Then  again,  where  population  is  stationary  and  a 
parish  feeble,  the  possession  of  a  parsonage  lessens 
materially  the  burdens  of  the  people,  and  presents  to 
the  pastor  a  strong  inducement  to  remain. 


X. 

CHURCH   BUILDINGS   AND    SERVICES. 
(From  the  Address  of  1848.) 

The  consecration  of  the  churches  this  year  has 
been  attended  by  circumstances  of  unusual  interest 
and  of  the  happiest  promise.  In  the  first  place,  tJie^ 
have  been  free  from  debt.     No  tax  has  been  left  to 


408  APPENDIX  X. 

be  discharged  by  posterity.  No  sanction  has  been 
given  to  the  criminal  practice  of  incurring  pecuniary 
responsibilities,  without  a  clear  prospect  of  being  able 
to  meet  and  discharge  them  ;  and  no  hazard  has  been 
incurred,  that  places  once  set  apart  for  the  perform- 
ance of  religious  offices,  shall  be  wrested  from  their 
sacred  purpose  by  the  violent  though  righteous  hand 
of  the  law.  And  it  is  due  to  five  other  parishes  which 
have  completed  church  edifices  within  the  last  year, 
to  state  that  not  having  discharged  as  yet  all  their 
liabilities,  they  have  not  asked  that  these  edifices 
should  be  devoted  to  the  exclusive  possession  and  ser- 
vice of  the  Most  High. 

Thanks  to  this  spirit.  It  is  shared  by  several  of 
our  older  parishes  which  have  long  been  pressed  down 
by  the  incubus  of  debts,  and  which  are  now  employed 
in  strenuous  efforts  to  disengage  themselves.  The 
diocese  is  thus  engaged  in  the  twofold  work  of  erect- 
ing new  churches,  and  of  discharging  the  pecuniary 
obligations  resting  on  old  ones.  The  work,  though 
arduous,  is  advancing  with  much  spirit,  and  I  look 
forward  with  confidence  to  a  day  not  far  distant, 
when  we  can  point  to  all  the  consecrated  edifices  of 
the  Church  in  this  diocese — as  free  from  the  reproach 
of  indebtedness. 

Another  characteristic  of  the  churches  built  within 
the  last  year,  and  one  to  which  I  refer  with  much 
satisfaction,  is  the  simple  and  appropriate  style  of 
their  architecture,  and  the  moderate  degree  of  expense 
at  which  they  have  been  finished.  In  a  country  where 
population  increases  at  such  a  rate,  where  the  capital 
which  gives  it  employment  is  so  limited,  and  where  it 
is  unspeakably  important  that  the  means  of  grace 
should  multiply  more  rapidly,  I  should  deprecate  as 
unfriendly  to  the  extension  as  well  as  to  the  sim- 
plicity of  our  faith,  the  growth  of  a  taste  which  de- 
manded gorgeous  and  magnificent  structures  for  wor- 
ship. More  of  graceful  forms  and  convenient  ar- 
rangements we  may  well  desire,  but  they  are  by  no 
means  incompatible  with  simplicity  and  frugality. 


CHURCH    BUILDINGS   AND   SERVICES.  40^ 

Long  may  this  diocese  be  known  for  her  zeal  and 
munificence  in  planting  churches  among  the  destitute, 
rather  than  for  her  prodigality  in  rearing  splendid 
edifices,  where  art  shall  undertake  to  supersede  the 
appropriate  office  of  the  pulpit  and  the  desk, — and 
where  piety  shall  be  measured  by  the  expensiveness 
of  its  solitary  offerings,  rather  than  by  the  diffusive- 
ness of  its  unostentatious  charities.  At  the  same 
time,  I  desire  to  do  merited  honor  to  the  better  taste 
in  church  architecture  which  is  gaining  ground  among 
us,  and  which  is  raising  some  new  and  beautiful  monu- 
ments of  its  frugality,  as  well  as  of  its  refinement. 

A  third  characteristic  of  most  of  the  churches 
which  I  have  consecrated,  and  of  several  others  now 
in  progress,  is  that  they  are  offerings  to  the  cause  of 
missions.  One  stands  in  the  midst  of  a  mining  dis- 
trict, distant  several  miles  from  any  other  place  of 
worship,  and  has  been  built  at  the  sole  expense  of  a 
benevolent  churchman  in  this  city,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  surrounding  and  increasing  population.  Another 
is  the  fruit  of  an  ardent  desire,  conceived  years  ago, 
by  a  few  of  the  members  of  our  older  churches,  to 
establish  a  parish  in  a  neglected  district  of  this  city, 
and  it  has  been  erected  almost  exclusively  by  the  con- 
tributions of  the  benevolent.  The  same  is  true  of 
others,  and  to  a  considerable,  though  less  degree  of 
some,  which  though  finished  are  not  yet  consecrated. 
The  noble  building  which  has  been  raised  by  the  parish 
at  Pottsville,  is  likewise,  under  God,  the  result  of  a 
purpose  long  cherished  and  devotedly  followed  up,  of 
opening  accommodations  for  the  foreign  laborers,  who 
are  crowding  into  that  town  and  its  vicinity.  In  ad- 
dition to  liberal  subscriptions  among  the  members  of 
the  congregation,  considerable  sums  have  been  given 
from  abroad,  and  these  have  been  devoted  to  the  pur- 
chase of  pews,  which  are  always  to  remain  free.  It 
deserves  to  be  noticed,  as  an  arrangement  peculiarly 
worthy  of  imitation,  that  these  pews  instead  of  being 
located  together,  in  the  remotest  and  least  attractive 
part  of  the  building,  where  their  occupants  would 

35 


410  APPENDIX  X. 

feel  more  sensibly  their  dependence  on  charity,  and 
be  in  the  same  proportion  more  exposed  to  the  in- 
vidious remarks  of  others,  are  distributed  through 
every  part  of  the  building.  This  arrangement  must 
contribute  as  well  to  the  orderly  and  edifying  admi- 
nistration of  the  services,  as  to  the  promotion  of  a 
healthy  feeling  of  Christian  brotherhood. 

(From  the  Address  of  1850.) 

It  is  with  sincere  gratification  I  record  the  fact, 
that  in  nearly  all  the  churches  throughout  the  Dio- 
cese, there  is  a  growing  attention  to  the  proper  pre- 
servation of  the  building,  and  to  neatness  and  order. 
This  is  generally  accompanied  by  a  disposition  to  con- 
form the  chancel  arrangements  to  the  long-established 
usage  which  provides  a  place  for  the  pulpit  and  read- 
ing-desk, as  well  as  for  the  Lord's  Table.  In  the 
few  instances  in  which  there  has  been  any  material 
departure  from  this  plan,  I  am  assured  that  there 
has  been  no  intention  to  exalt  one  office  of  the  Church 
at  the  expense  of  others,  nor  any  thought  of  dis- 
paraging the  ministry  of  the  Word.  What  may  be 
the  ultimate  tendency  of  some  of  these  arrangements 
is  a  question  about  which  minds  the  most  enlightened 
and  upright  will  differ.  Could  your  Bisbop's  opinion 
or  wishes  prevail,  there  would  be  no  deviation  from 
the  old  plan,  which  assigns  a  reading-desk  and  sur- 
plice for  the  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer,  including 
the  litany — the  holy  table,  and  a  font  in  its  vicinity 
for  the  Communion  and  Baptismal  Offices — and  a 
pulpit  and  gown  for  the  sermon.  Not  that  he  con- 
ceives that  these  are  things  important  in  themselves ; 
but  order,  sobriety,  and  uniformity  are  important, 
especially  in  a  communion  which  is  still  to  win  its 
way  to  general  acceptance ;  and  which  must  owe 
much  of  its  power  to  its  blended  order  and  simplicity. 
To  us,  more  than  to  most  Christian  bodies,  uniformity 
in  the  mode  of  conducting  Christian  worship  in  all 
our  churches,  is  of  moment ;  and  it  is  therefore  much 


AGGRESSIVE   WORK   OF  THE   CHURCH.  411 

to  be  deplored  when  childish  prejudices  against  the 
surplice,  or  a  hankering  not  less  childish  after  novel- 
ties, that  are  none  the  less  novelties  among  us,  be- 
cause some  precedent  for  them  can  be  found  in  the 
records  of  the  distant  past, — when  causes  like  these 
are  permitted  to  interfere  with  our  peace,  and  per- 
petuate the  prevalence  of  anomalies.  He,  however, 
would  greatly  underrate  the  tenacity  with  which  the 
human  mind  clings,  on  the  one  hand,  to  old  ideas, 
and  on  the  other  to  new  conceits,  who  could  expect, 
at  a  period  like  the  present,  any  other  result.  In  the 
absence  of  canonical  regulations  on  the  subject, 
which,  in  this  country,  would  be  framed  with  great 
difficulty,  these  questions  must  be  left  in  a  good  de- 
gree to  time,  and  to  the  operation  of  the  good  sense 
and  good  feeling  by  which  the  churchmen  of  this 
Diocese  are  characterized.  Where  the  Gospel  is 
faithfully  preached  and  faithfully  followed,  there  such 
questions  will  ultimately  sink  into  comparative  insig- 
nificance; and  where  these  are  wanting,  little  can  be 
effected  for  the  salvation  of  men  by  any  architectural 
arrangements,  however  they  may  conform  to  a  Me- 
dieval or  a  Protestant  standard.  It  is  due  to  the 
frankness  which  ought  always  to  obtain  between  a 
Diocese  and  its  Bishop  to  remark  further,  that  should 
evils,  which  have  been  apprehended  from  some  recent 
innovations,  be  realized,  the  time  will  then  have  come 
when  I  should  conceive  myself  unworthy  of  the  place 
I  hold,  if  I  did  not  exercise  mildly,  yet  firmly,  the 
discretion  with  which  I  have  been  charged,  in  respect 
to  the  consecration  of  places  for  public  worship. 


XI. 

AGGRESSIVE   WORK    OF   THE   CHURCH. 
(From  the  Address  of  1852.) 

In  surveying  the  present  condition  of  the  Diocese, 
we  have  reason  to  take  courage.     We  owe  gratitude 


412  APPENDIX  xr. 

to  God  and  to  our  predecessors,  that  its  course  has 
been  steadily  progressive  for  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury, and  that,  through  its  instrumentality,  the  Gos- 
pel has  not  only  been  maintained,  but  has  been  ex- 
tended among  many  who  would  otherwise  have  been 
given  over  to  ignorance  and  irreligion.  Yet  we  ought 
by  no  means  to  rest  satisfied  with  our  present  state. 
To  ourselves  and  to  our  Divine  Master,  we  owe  large 
arrears  on  account  of  past  unfaithfulness  and  ineffi- 
ciency. We  reach,  directly,  through  our  own  ser- 
vices, but  an  insignificant  part  of  the  population  of 
this  great  Commonwealth — not  more,  probably,  than 
one  in  twenty.  We  see  abundant  proofs,  at  the  same 
time,  that  there  are  multitudes,  both  in  town  and 
country,  who  are  reached  by  no  religious  instruction 
and  influence  likely  to  be  of  permanent  advantage  to 
them.  The  voluntary  system,  for  sustaining  and  pro- 
pagating the  Gospel,  has  thus  far  worked  quite  as 
well  as  any  system  with  which  it  is  usually  compared. 
But,  in  its  practical  working  here,  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that,  at  present,  it  appeals  too  much  to  the 
principle  of  competition  among  different  religious 
bodies,  and  directs  its  care  somewhat  too  exclusively 
towards  those  who  have  pecuniary  support  to  offer. 
In  travelling  over  this  State,  one  is  often  saddened 
to  see  with  what  intense  and  ungenerous  efforts  those 
of  different  religious  names  sometimes  struggle  for 
ascendency  in  our  small  towns,  and  how,  in  this 
ignoble  strife,  ministrations  and  places  of  worship  are 
multiplied  as  much  beyond  the  proper  wants  of  the 
population,  as  beyond  its  ability  to  support  them. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  the  rural,  mining,  and  manu- 
facturing districts,  there  are  large  numbers  of  people 
who  are  left  without  the  services  of  any  properly 
qualified  ministry ;  there  are  many  who  have  the  ser- 
vices of  no  ministry  at  all.  In  our  cities  and  larger 
towns,  the  evil  takes  a  somewhat  different  shape. 
Congregations  there  being  gathered  mainly  through 
the  attractions  of  the  pulpit,  and  being  composed 
almost  exclusively  of  those  who  are  able  and  willing 


AGGRESSIVE  WORK  OF  THE  CHURCH.    413 

to  pay  for  sittings,  we  are  in  danger  of  overlooking 
the  most  important  part  of  our  mission. 

What,  in  truth,  do  many  of  our  largest  and  seem- 
ingly most  flourishing  churches  do  for  those  who 
never  attend  public  worship,  or  for  those  again  who 
are  unable  to  appreciate  and  enjoy  a  scholar-like  ora- 
tory, or  for  those  again  who  are  besotted  by  vices 
and  ignorance  ?  Beneath  the  very  shadow  of  an  edi- 
fice, thronged  on  the  Lord's-day  by  admiring  wor- 
shippers, may  fester  a  mass  of  wickedness  and  im- 
piety sufficient  to  make  every  thoughtful  man  tremble. 
Christians  little  consider  the  extent  of  this  evil,  nor 
the  peril  with  which  it  invests  our  social  condition 
and  prospects.  These  neglected  classes  are  danger- 
ous classes,  and  in  proportion  as  they  become  large 
and  are  clothed  by  law  with  political  power  and  au- 
thority, they  threaten  our  dearest  and  most  sacred 
interests.  Has  not  the  time  come,  then,  when  the 
ministers  and  members  of  our  communion  should  ad- 
dress themselves  earnestly  and  resolutely  to  this  ne- 
glected duty  ?  That  we  may  be  enabled  to  discharge 
it,  we  need  not  so  much  an  increase  of  pecuniary 
contributions  or  of  clerical  strength,  as  a  better  orga- 
nization, and  a  more  active  use  of  existing  resources. 

It  must  be  apparent  to  every  observing  person, 
that  too  many  of  our  people  remain  passive  under  the 
ministrations  of  the  sanctuary.  Even  communicants, 
who  profess  to  know  that  their  duty  is  to  do  good  to 
all  men  as  they  have  opportunity,  are  slow  to  adopt 
permanent  and  systematic  plans  of  beneficence, 
through  which  they  can  reduce  the  blessings  of  the 
pulpit  and  the  impressions  received  in  reading  or  con- 
versation to  daily  practice.  Quite  too  much  of  our 
current  Christianity  is  occupied  in  hearing,  or  talking, 
or  reading  about  religion, — too  little  in  striving  to 
become  doers  of  the  word.  I  am  well  aware  that 
there  are  persons,  who  can  find  full  employment  for 
their  active  charities  at  home,  and  in  the  discharge 
of  their  daily  duties.  But  there  are  others  who  have 
the  ability,  and  who  are  not  without  inclination,  to  go 

35* 


414  APPENDIX   XI. 

out  into  the  highways  and  hedges,  and  compel  the 
destitute  and  forsaken  to  come  in.  They  need,  how- 
ever, the  direction  of  those  who  are  clothed  with  pro- 
per authority,  and  who  have  also  skill  and  experience 
in  respect  to  the  best  modes  of  doing  good.  They 
need  encouragement,  too,  when  they  meet  with  dis- 
heartening difficulties ;  and  constantly  do  they  need 
to  be  reminded  that  a  true  Christian  life  requires 
more  than  occasional  paroxysms  of  benevolence.  It  re- 
quires that  always,  while  we  are  in  the  body,  we  should 
be  about  our  Master's  business — always  wise  to  win 
souls — always  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season  in 
ministering  to  suffering  bodies  and  to  diseased  minds. 
What,  then,  might  not  be  accomplished,  if  each 
parish  were  in  fact  what  it  is  declared  to  be  in  theory, 
a  missionary  association — an  association  whose  mem- 
bers really  feel  that  their  personal  efforts  and  prayers 
are  to  be  joined  with  their  regular  pecuniary  offerings, 
in  order  to  seek  and  to  save  them  that  are  lost.  At 
least  one-third  of  all  the  sittings  in  the  churches  of 
this  diocese  are  unoccupied  every  Lord's  day,  so  that 
without  increasing  our  church  accommodations,  or  our 
clerical  force,  we  might  to  that  extent,  at  least,  in- 
crease, at  once,  the  number  of  those  who  attend  our 
ministrations.  And  what  a  blessing  would  inevitably 
accrue  to  those,  who  should  make  strenuous  and 
judicious  aggression  upon  the  vice  and  irreligion  that 
surround  them  !  It  is  an  effort  which  always  brings 
with  it  its  own  reward.  Many  whose  hearts  now  yearn 
for  occupation,  or  whose  consciences  admonish  them 
that  they  are  doing  too  little  for  the  world  and  for 
God,  would  find  here  a  sphere  of  activity  as  delightful 
as  it  would  be  improving.  And  for  the  Church,  what 
a  noble  enterprise — to  embody  her  communicants  in 
each  congregation  into  an  active  recruiting  agency, 
among  the  neglected  poor,  and  among  the  reckless 
and  irreligious  who  are  not  poor.  Why,  with  a  proper 
lay  agency,  and  a  more  earnest  missionary  spirit, 
should  she  not,  within  five  years,  double  the  number 
of  those  who  in  this  diocese  are  looking  to  her  for 


AGGRESSIVE   WORK   OF  THE   CHURCH.  415 

spiritual  instruction  and  consolation  ?  Let  her  re- 
member the  young  whom  she  is  not  laboring  to  train 
in  Christian  ways.  Let  her  remember  friendless  im- 
migrants, destitute  orphans,  the  neglected  helpless 
sick,  and  sinners,  who  have  no  man  to  care  for  their 
souls. 

The  following  resolutions,  adopted  with  singular 
unanimity  by  the  House  of  Bishops,  during  the  last 
General  Convention,  indicate  the  conviction  of  the 
Fathers  of  our  American  Church,  that  much  of  our 
hitherto  neglected  duty  to  these  classes  may  be  dis- 
charged under  the  direction  of  the  clergy  hy  a  well- 
concerted  system  of  lay  co-operation.  These  resolu- 
tions, which  will  be  found  on  page  132  of  the  Journal, 
are  in  the  words  following : 

Resolved^  That  a  committee  of  five.  Bishops  Brow- 
nell,  Doane,  Henshaw, Chase,  and  Potter,  be  appointed 
to  consider  and  report  to  this  House,  at  the  next 
Session  of  the  General  Convention,  whether  some 
plan  cannot  be  proposed,  by  which,  consistent  with 
the  principles  of  our  Reformed  Communion,  the 
services  of  intelligent  and  pious  persons  of  both 
sexes,  may  be  secured  to  the  Church,  to  a  greater  ex- 
tent, in  the  education  of  the  young,  the  relief  of  the 
sick  and  destitute,  the  care  of  orphans  and  friendless 
immigrants,  and  the  reformation  of  the  vicious. 

Resolved,  That  in  case  the  committee  are  able  to 
fix  upon  a  plan,  which  in  their  estimation  is  consistent 
with  the  sound  principles  of  our  Protestant  Church, 
they  have  leave  to  print  the  same  for  the  use  of  the 
Bishops,  and  the  several  Standing  Committees  of  this 
Church. 

Few  questions  can  present  themselves  to  the  true 
philanthropist  and  earnest  churchman  of  our  day, 
which  merit  more  careful  and  devout  consideration 
than  the  one  which  is  raised  in  these  resolutions. 

It  gives  me  great  satisfaction  to  be  assured  that  in 
different  parts  of  the  diocese,  measures  are  taking 
which  must  result  in  developing  this  aggressive  power 
of  our  Church.     I  have  before  me  the  journal  of  a 


416  ""~^   *^  APPENDIX   XT. 

city  clergyman,  who  by  a  temporary  effort,  made 
through  zealous  members  of  his  parish,  was  enabled 
to  extend  his  own  influence  and  the  influence  of  his 
Sunday-school  and  Tract  distributors  over  many 
families,  where  hitherto  they  had  been  unknown. 
Large  parishes  already  tax  the  time  and  strength  of 
their  Rectors  so  severely,  that  what  they  accomplish 
in  this  way,  must  be  effected  mainly  through  the 
Laity.  But  in  smaller  congregations,  whether  in 
town  or  country,  much  will  depend  on  the  enterprise 
and  zeal  of  the  clergy.  The  following  extract  from 
the  letter  of  one  who  has  a  cure  in  a  remote  part  of 
the  diocese,  and  whose  parish  and  Sunday  duties  at 
home  are  more  than  usually  severe,  shows  how  much 
can  be  achieved  by  a  zealous  spirit. 

"  This  winter,  I  have  had  the  surrounding  country 
marked  off  into  districts,  and  in  some  eight  or  ten 
different  places  have  held  sixty  services.  About  forty 
of  these  have  been  in  the  school-houses  of  our  needy 
districts.  We  had  some  cold  weather  ;  but  the 
mercury,  I  am  happy  to  state,  has  not  gone  lower 
than  22  degrees  below  zero.  Notwithstanding  our 
severe  weather,  my  country  services  even  have  been 
well  attended."  At  two  of  the  points  visited  once  a 
month  he  says,  "  the  congregations  were  good  enough 
to  pay  me  for  my  ride  of  twenty-five  miles  on  a 
Sunday  afternoon."  At  one  of  these  points,  he 
states  further,  "  the  erection  of  a  church  building  is 
proposed,  and  means  will  not  be  wanting  to  sustain  a 
missionary."  He  adds,  in  conclusion,  that  his  expe- 
rience in  regard  to  this  effort  confirms  him  in  the 
opinion  that  services  such  as  he  had  held,  "  are 
practicable  in  more  places  than  some  are  willing  to 
admit.  The  people  are  not  horrified,  either,  by 
prayers  from  a  book." 

There  is  one  most  important  part  of  our  population 
which  seems,  especially  in  large  towns,  to  be  alienated 
to  a  deplorable  extent  from  the  privileges  of  the 
Sabbath  and  sanctuary.  I  mean  young  men  and 
boys.     This  is  to  be  ascribed,  in  part,  to  the  want  of 


AGGRESSIVE   WORK    OF   THE   CHURCH.  417 

proper  home  education — in  part  to  the  notion  that 
previously  at  Sunday-school,  they  have  acquired  suffi- 
cient religious  knowledge — in  part  to  the  attractions 
of  mutual  benefit  clubs  and  other  similar  associations 
— and  in  part,  of  course,  to  the  manifold  temptations 
that  pertain,  at  all  times,  to  their  age  and  sex. 

The  evil  could  hardly  have  reached,  however,  its 
present  height,  had  Christians  and  Christian  minis- 
ters been  fully  awake  to  their  duty.  I  would  invite 
attention,  therefore,  to  the  necessity  of  special  eiforts, 
in  all  parts  of  the  diocese,  in  order  that  we  may,  if 
possible,  restore  our  faith  to  its  proper  influence  over 
these  interesting  and  most  valuable  minds.  Such 
efforts  will  require  to  be  made,  of  course,  with  much 
wisdom  and  circumspection,  and  their  success  will  de- 
pend more  upon  the  kind  and  judicious  zeal  of  indi- 
viduals, than  upon  known  associated  operation.  It  is 
a  work  which  claims  increasingly  the  anxious  consi- 
deration of  all  lovers  of  their  country  and  kind.  The 
establishment,  within  the  last  year,  and  in  this  city, 
of  two  institutions  of  young  men,  connected  with  our 
Church,  which  are  devoted  to  such  a  work,  forms  one 
of  the  most  auspicious  events  which  I  have  to  record. 
These  institutions  are  called — the  one,  the  Brother- 
hood of  the  Protestant  Upiscopal  Church — the  other, 
the  Heading  Room  and  Library/  Association  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Philadelphia^  and 
both  are  intended  to  act  as  a  counterpoise  to  the  un- 
profitable and  dangerous  allurements,  which  a  large 
city  presents  to  the  inexperienced.  By  the  second  of 
them,  a  place  of  resort  is  kept  open,  at  all  proper 
hours,  where  may  be  found  Christian  literature  and 
Christian  associates.  "In  connection  with  the  Read- 
ing Room,  will  be  opened  conversation  and  committee 
rooms,  which  may  incidentally  form  a  point  of  union 
for  clergymen  and  others,  residents  and  visitors  in 
the  city,  as  well  as  offices  for  the  purposes  of  the 
several  ecclesiastical  associations  in  our  communion. 
With  the  opening  of  the  rooms  will  be  put  in  opera- 
tion a  religious  tract  department,  by  means  of  which, 


418  APPENDIX  XI.  -^'"v* 

it  is  hoped,  the  facilities  for  obtaining  tracts  and  reli- 
gious works  for  gratuitous  distribution  will  be  in- 
creased. In  order  to  cary  out  the  views  of  the 
founders  of  the  Institution,  the  board  of  managers, 
in  addition  to  establishing  a  large  subscription  list 
among  young  men  generally,  have  made  arrange- 
ments for  the  sending  of  circulars  to  clergymen  and 
others  in  this  and  the  adjoining  States,  requesting 
them,  when  a  young  man,  connected  by  association 
or  otherwise  with  our  Church,  leaves  his  family  for 
the  purpose  of  entering  into  business  here,  to  place 
in  his  hands  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  officers  of 
the  Reading  Room,  whose  duty  it  will  be  to  see  that 
he  is  supplied  with  such  permanent  religious  opportu- 
nities as  may  best  serve  to  keep  alive  home  and  reli- 
gious influences,  and  afford  a  barrier  against  those 
temptations,  which,  to  young  men  in  large  cities,  are 
BO  numerous  and  subtle." 

The  importance  of  opening  some  communication 
between  those  who  come,  in  youth  and  without  expe- 
rience, to  encounter  the  dangers  of  a  city  life,  and 
the  clergy  and  active  members  of  our  Church,  is  so 
obvious  that  I  need  not  insist  upon  it.  When  means 
of  doing  this  so  convenient  and  likely  to  prove  so 
efficient  are  provided,  it  is  hoped  they  will  not  be  ne- 
glected. It  will  be  understood,  of  course,  that  the 
invitation  thus  held  out,  is  addressed  to  those  in  other 
dioceses,  as  well  as  in  our  own. 


(From  the  Address  of  1853.) 

There  are  two  objects  which  I  have  endeavored  to 
keep  constantly  in  view, — first,  the  building  up  of 
parishes  already  established,  and  secondly,  the  ex- 
tension of  the  Church  by  the  formation  and  susten- 
tation  of  new  parishes.  In  order  to  strengthen  ex- 
isting congregations,  many  of  which  are  still  weak,  it 
is  of  the  first  importance  that  clergymen  be  zealous, 
able,  and  efficient;  but  inasmuch  as  such  men  cannot 


AGGRESSIVE  WORK   OF  THE   CHURCH.  419 

be  secured  and  retained  unless  their  temporal  wants 
are  supplied,  and  inasmuch,  further,  as  that  supply- 
ought,  in  most  cases,  to  proceed  from  the  people  to 
whom  they  minister,  it  is  of  prime  necessity  that  the 
working  capacity  and  liberality  of  many  of  the  pa- 
rishes should  be  augmented.  Hence  the  solicitude 
with  which  I  have  urged  the  payment  of  church  debts, 
the  erection  of  parsonages  in  rural  districts  and  small 
towns ;  the  increase  and  more  punctual  payment  of 
salaries ;  some  assistance  to  the  clergy  in  the  educa- 
tion of  their  sons  and  daughters,  and  some  provision 
for  their  families  in  case  of  their  death.  The  parishes 
which  have  come  most  liberally  and  promptly  into 
these  measures,  are  those  which  are  now  blessed  with 
the  most  signal  evidences  of  outward  prosperity,  and 
of  a  blessing  on  the  souls  of  the  people.  Let  it  be 
our  constant  prayer,  and  our  united  effort,  that  all 
the  congregations  in  the  diocese,  by  doing  their  full 
duty  in  this  behalf,  may  entitle  themselves  to  that 
honor  from  God  which  awaits  those — and  those  only 
— who  honor  him.  Cheering  improvement  is  already 
visible.  With  God's  blessing  on  our  steady  perseve- 
rance, that  improvement  shall  become  more  marked 
and  universal. 

One  of  the  ways  in  which  existing  parishes  can 
materially  enlarge  their  sphere  of  usefulness,  and  at 
the  same  time  often  prepare  the  way  for  new  parishes, 
is  indicated  in  the  following  resolution,  which  was 
adopted  at  our  last  Convention : 

"•Resolved^  That  the  Bishop  be  requested  (if  he  see 
fit)  to  encourage  the  experiment  of  field  and  room 
preaching,  in  order  that  the  Convention  may  here- 
after the  better  judge  of  this  mode  of  reaching  a  por- 
tion of  the  population  of  cities,  now  beyond  the  ordi- 
nary means  of  grace."  In  the  address  delivered  last 
year,  I  expressed,  in  strong  terms,  my  conviction 
that  efforts  of  this  kind  w^ere  greatly  needed.  As 
well  in  rural  parishes,  mining  districts,  and  manufac- 
turing villages,  as  in  large  cities,  there  are  many, 


420  APPENDIX   XI. 

very  many,  whom  the  ministrations  of  our  Church 
will  never  reach,  or  will  reach  most  imperfectly,  if 
we  wait  till  they  resort,  of  their  own  will,  to  regular 
services  at  church.  I  did  not  douht  that  after  this 
expression  of  my  views,  my  brethren  of  the  clergy 
would  assume  that  I  should  gladly  encourage  all  pru- 
dent efforts  to  do  this  much-neglected  and  much- 
needed  work.  Field  preaching  is  surrounded  with 
difficulties,  and  I  have  as  yet  found  no  one  willing  to 
undertake  it,  to  whom  I  thought  a  task  so  delicate 
could  safely  be  confided.  But  services  in  private 
houses,  and  in  rooms  convenient  of  access  to  a  labor- 
ing population,  present  no  such  difficulties ;  and  I  am 
glad  to  say  that  they  are  commanding  increased  at- 
tention, and  have  been  crowned  with  the  most  grati- 
fying success.  More  than  one  instance  has  come  to 
my  knowledge,  which  proves  that  by  such  services, 
carefully  conducted,  many  can  be  attracted  to  church, 
who  before  were  strangers  to  it ;  and  a  happy  in- 
fluence applied  to  families  and  neighborhoods,  who 
before  were  living  in  recklessness  and  sin.  Care,  of 
course,  must  be  taken,  lest  such  services  supplant,  in 
the  affections  of  the  people,  those  which  pertain  to 
the  Sabbath  and  the  Sanctuary.  To  these  last  are 
attached  a  power  and  a  blessing,  which  should  make 
us  exceedingly  slow  to  press  forward  others,  which 
can,  in  the  remotest  degree,  be  regarded  as  rival  ex- 
ercises. And  especially  is  this  the  case,  at  a  time 
when  science,  literature,  and  a  misguided,  though  I 
trust,  not  dishonest  philanthropy,  seems  sometimes 
disposed  to  supersede,  by  teachings  bereft  of  the 
Christian  element,  the  time-honored  and  heaven-ac- 
cepted ordinances  of  God's  day  and  house. 

I  have  been  rejoiced  also  to  find  that  some  of  our 
clergy  give  a  portion  of  their  time  to  the  inmates  of 
prisons.  No  persons  more  need  the  instructions  and 
worship  of  the  Church,  and  few  accept  them  more 
readily.  In  Chester  County,  the  prison  and  alms- 
house are  visited  regularly  on  every  alternate  Sunday, 
by  a  clergyman  employed  by  the  Chester  and  Dela- 


AGGRESSIVE  WORK   OP  THE   CHURCH.  421 

ware  Convocation.  In  Philadelphia,  Berks,  and 
Montgomery,  and  I  do  not  doubt  in  other  counties, 
more  or  less  of  the  same  duty  is  performed ;  and  I 
would  commend  it  to  the  clergy  generally,  to  whom 
prisons  are  accessible,  as  a  field  not  likely  to  be 
reaped  by  others,  where  they  will  be  sure  to  find  the 
Master's  blessing,  and  where  they  may  secure  new 
and  bright  trophies  of  their  disinterested  zeal. 

The  clergy  generally,  throughout  the  diocese,  de- 
vote more  time  and  effort  to  labors  of  a  missionary 
character.  For  this  purpose  in  part,  assistants  are 
now  provided  in  several  of  our  City  parishes — and 
several  of  the  clergy  in  the  interior  of  the  diocese 
hold  frequent  services  in  places  more  or  less  remote 
from  the  immediate  scene  of  their  ministry.  Three 
district  missionaries  are  now  employed,  and  it  is  much 
to  be  desired  that  the  numbers  could  be  increased. 

That  such  efforts  may  be  crowned  with  success, 
great  earnestness  and  perseverance  will  be  needed,  as 
well  as  a  large  measure  of  faith  and  hopefulness.  If 
these  efforts  spring  from  a  transient  enthusiasm,  and 
are  not  followed  up  steadily — if,  because  there  are  no 
early  and  marked  results,  we  lose  heart  and  abandon 
the  ground,  the  fruits,  of  course,  will  be  inconsider- 
able. That  due  time  in  which,  according  to  the  Di- 
vine promise,  we  shall  reap  if  we  faint  not,  will  often 
seem  to  our  impatience  to  be  too  long  delayed,  and 
by  giving  way  to  premature  despondence,  we  shall 
forfeit  the  harvest  —  copious,  perhaps,  and  most 
blessed — which  God  has  been  ripening  to  our  hands. 
When  we  engage  in  such  work,  where  indifference  is 
to  be  roused,  prejudice  disarmed,  ignorance  and  mis- 
conception removed,  and  new  habits  induced,  "  hope 
on,  hope  ever"  is  our  only  safe  motto.  With  God's 
blessing,  even  apparent  impossibilities  will  give  way. 
Says  one  who  had  a  large  heart  for  the  missionary 
work,  especially  among  the  neglected  sons  and  daugh- 
ters of  toil,  in  his  own  country  and  neighborhood: 
*'  Notwithstanding  the  failure  of  fond  and  sanguine 
hopes,  I  will  still  proclaim  it  as  my  faith,  that  if  a 

36 


422  APPENDIX  XI. 

minister  will  but  plj,  with  the  attention  of  common 
and  Christian  kindness  through  the  week,  the  families 
of  such  a  district  as  the  one  that  has  been  assigned 
to  you — if  he  will  but  attend  their  funerals,  and  visit 
their  sick  beds,  and  watch  over  the  deaths  of  those 
who  are  near  and  dear  to  them,  and  take  cognizance 
of  their  children,  and  become  the  affectionate  friend 
and  familiar  of  the  common  people  within  the  limits 
of  his  territory,  and  if,  to  lighten  the  cares  and  fa- 
tigues of  such  a  superintendence,  and  bring  it  within 
the  compass  of  his  own  individual  strength,  he  will 
attach  to  him,  by  his  cordiality  and  courteousness,  a 
parochial  agency,  at  once  to  relieve  him  of  his  toils 
and  give  a  tenfold  efficacy  to  his  labors — I  cannot 
but  aver  it  as  my  yet  unshaken  confidence,  that  on 
these  things  being  done,  the  result  in  the  course  of 
years,  would  be  a  numerous  and  steady  congregation 
gathered  out  from  among  the  families  who  had  been 
attached  by  the  services  of  Christian  philanthropy 
performed  in  the  midst  of  them." 

Early  in  Lent,  I  addressed  a  pastoral  letter  to  the 
clergy  of  the  diocese,  requesting  that  if  not  likely 
seriously  to  derange  existing  plans  and  arrangements, 
collections  might  be  made  in  the  congregations  on 
the  morning  of  Easter  day,  in  aid  of  feeble  churches, 
that  are  engaged  in  building  houses  of  worship.  The 
rapid  increase  of  our  population,  requires  the  organ- 
ization of  new  parishes,  at  points  where  a  church 
edifice  must  be  supplied,  but  where  the  means  on  the 
part  of  those  interested,  are  more  or  less  insufficient. 
Every  effort  is  made  to  render  this  assistance  from 
abroad,  contingent  upon  the  exertions  that  can  be 
reasonably  expected  at  home,  and  in  this  way  a  stim- 
ulus to  such  exertions  is  applied.  If  a  fund  for  this 
purpose  could  be  collected  from  year  to  year,  and  dis- 
pensed under  proper  supervision,  it  would  not  only 
greatly  promote  the  extension  of  our  Church — it 
would  supersede  many  of  the  personal  applications, 
which  are  now  made  at  much  expense  of  time  and 
convenience  to  all  parties,  and  which  are  not  always 


CHURCH   CHARITIES.  423 

successful  in  proportion  to  their  respective  merits.  In 
the  absence  too,  of  some  general  eflfort  throughout 
the  diocese,  the  inevitable  result  is,  that  these  appli- 
cations, in  addition  to  many  from  other  dioceses, 
centre  at  Philadelphia,  and  thus  charge  churchmen 
here,  with  more  than  their  share  of  a  burden  which 
ought  to  be  common  to  all. 


XII. 

CHURCH   CHARITIES. 

(From  the  Address  of  1851.) 

Among  the  benevolent  efforts  which  have  been  made 
within  the  last  year,  I  ought  not  to  omit  all  notice  of 
one  which,  though  connected  more  immediately  with 
Philadelphia,  is  entitled  to  general  consideration,  as 
indicating  a  disposition  to  recognize  and,  in  a  greater 
degree  than  formerly,  to  discharge  the  debt  which  the 
Church  in  her  collective  capacity  owes  to  the  sick  and 
destitute.  Her  members  have  not  been  wanting,  as 
compared  with  others,  in  their  personal  efforts  and 
contributions  in  behalf  of  the  afflicted.  What,  how- 
ever, in  a  large  city  we  especially  need,  are  institu- 
tions which  may  represent  to  the  world  our  care,  as  a 
Communion,  for  those  who  are  unable  to  care  for 
themselves  ;  and  which  in  providing  agencies  to  ex- 
amine cases  as  they  arise,  and  to  dispense  judicious 
relief — such  as  individuals  could  not  afford,  or  could 
afford  but  imperfectly,  will  at  the  same  time  open  to 
benevolent  persons,  who  are  willing  to  devote  a  por- 
tion or  the  whole  of  their  time  to  unpaid  labors  of 
love,  a  sphere  within  which  they  can  work  unobtru- 
sively, and  under  such  direction  as  will  be  likely  to 
render  their  services  most  useful  to  others  and  to 
themselves. 


424  APPENDIX  XII. 

On  these  as  well  as  other  accounts,  I  hail  with  sin- 
cere pleasure  the  establishment  of  "  The  Hospital  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Philadelphia."* 
It  will  supply,  in  some  measure,  a  want,  felt  to  be 
great  already,  and  known  to  be  rapidly  increasing  ; 
and  it  will  prove,  I  trust,  the  first  of  a  series  of  In- 
stitutions contemplating  relief  for  different  forms  of 
human  misery,  which  will  gradually  rise  under  the 
same  auspices — institutions  in  which  the  bereaved  and 
destitute  of  our  Communion  can  always  be  sure  of 
sympathy,  and  where  the  offices  and  ministrations  of 
our  religion  will  be  extended  freely  and  regularly,  at 
those  hours  when  they  are  most  needed  and  most 
likely  to  be  profitable  to  the  soul's  health. 

In  connection  with  this  subject,  I  ought,  perhaps, 
to  record  my  conviction,  that  while  the  Church  has 
been  remiss,  hitherto,  in  efforts  of  this  kind,  there  is 
danger  that  when  she  comes  to  make  them,  they  will 
not  always  be  made  with  due  care  or  circumspection. 
To  give  temporal  aid  which  is  purely  gratuitous,  is  a 
delicate  task,  in  the  performance  of  which  we  can  easily 
occasion  evils  more  serious  than  any  we  relieve.  There 
is  no  department  of  human  duty,  in  which  it  is  more 
important  to  recognize  the  principle  that  prevention 
is  better  than  remedy,  than  in  our  works  of  charity. 
It  should  evidently  be  our  first  object,  to  cultivate 
among  all  classes  of  people,  such  faith  in  God,  and 
such  a  meek  but  manly  spirit  of  self-reliance,  as  will 
render  them  deeply  averse  to  become  recipients  of 
alms,  except  when  Providence  makes  it  absolutely 
necessary.  When  sent  as  a  visitation  from  God,  des- 
titution and  dependence  become  a  blessing  both  to 
those  who  suffer  and  to  those  who  relieve.  But  when 
they  arise  (as  in  large  cities  is  often  the  case),  from 
improvidence  and  idleness,  the  bounty  of  the  benevo- 
lent may  only  foster  and  aggravate  the  evil  it  seeks 

*  The  Hospital  has  been  followed  already  by  a  Church  Home 
for  Children,  Orphan  Houses,  Houses  of  Industry,  Houses  of 
Reformation  for  the  Fallen,  and  others  will,  it  is  hoped,  in  due 
time  succeed. 


CHURCH   CHARITIES.  425 

to  cure.  Whenever,  therefore,  an  Institution  holds 
out  a  public  offer  of  relief,  it  presents,  to  a  certain 
extent,  an  invitation  to  idleness  and  imposture,  and 
they  who  administer  its  affairs  are  bound  to  use  cor- 
responding vigilance.  It  is  here  as  elsewhere — evils 
are  incident  to  the  best  exertions  we  can  make  for 
our  own  welfare  or  the  welfare  of  others,  and  to  guard 
against  them  as  we  may,  forms  a  part  of  our  proba- 
tionary discipline.  Our  natural  sensibilities  are  given 
as  impelling  forces  in  charity,  not  as  guides ;  and  they 
assume  serious  responsibility  who,  intent  only  on  giving 
present  succor  or  relief,  decline  to  look  beyond  at  the 
injury  which  that  relief,  if  injudiciously  bestowed, 
may  exert  for  life,  over  conduct  and  character. 

I  make  these  remarks  because  I  cannot  but  indulge 
the  hope  that  the  Church  in  this  Diocese  is  about  to 
redouble  her  diligence  in  works  of  this  kind,  and 
because  I  consider  it  particularly  important,  that  the 
principles  which  discriminate  true  from  spurious 
charity  should  at  such  a  time,  be  carefully  marked. 
There  is  much,  too,  in  our  time  in  a  morbid  litera- 
ture, in  a  self-styled  philanthropy  which  is  not  less 
morbid,  and  in  a  prevailing  disposition  to  supersede 
individual  effort  and  domestic  forecast  and  thrift,  by 
artificial  systems  of  co-operation,  that  tends  to  mislead 
us.  It  is  not  surprising  that  at  such  a  period  the 
Church  should  catch  something  of  the  same  spirit, 
and  that  under  the  influence  of  an  impulsive  and  sen- 
timental charity,  which  is  impatient  of  considerations 
that  may  be  imperiously  required  by  the  permanent 
good  of  its  objects,  there  should  be  danger  once  more 
of  confounding  the  distinction  which  the  Christian 
world  has  reached  after  such  long  and  costly  experi- 
ence between  mere  almsgiving  and  true  benevolence. 

IRISH   FAMINE. 
(From  the  Address  of  1847.) 

I  cannot  close  the  record  of  my  labors  during  this 
part  of  the  year  without  adverting  to  a  measure  which 

3(5* 


426  APPENDIX  XII. 

I  adopted  with  some  hesitation,  and  only  after  it  had 
been  sanctioned  by  the  concurrence  of  judicious  ad- 
visers, but  which  has  been  followed  by  results  both 
unexpected  and  gratifying.  Appalling  distress  had 
suddenly  fallen  upon  a  large  part  of  Europe,  but  es- 
pecially upon  two  countries  to  which  we  are  intimately 
allied  by  community  of  origin,  language,  and  in- 
stitutions, as  well  as  of  commercial  interest,  and  from 
which  we  have  derived  many  of  our  most  useful  and 
valued  citizens.  It  was  an  event  occurring  in  the 
midst  of  general  peace  over  the  world,  and  when  the 
resources  of  science  and  art  had  so  multiplied,  that 
vain  man  was  beginning  to  bid  defiance  to  the  ap- 
proach of  famine.  Providence  chose  to  rebuke  his 
presumption,  and  to  present,  in  the  sufferings  of  my- 
riads suddenly  smitten  with  helplessness,  a  sad  proof 
of  human  impotence,  and  a  most  affecting  appeal  to 
the  charities  of  the  whole  civilized  world.  It  seemed 
to  be  an  occasion  as  rare  as  it  was  providential,  an 
occasion  when,  by  a  prompt  and  united  effort  to  ad- 
minister relief,  made  in  this  far-off  land,  we  could 
testify  not  merely  our  love  for  Christ,  and  our  com- 
miseration for  those  for  whom  Christ  died,  but  could 
also  warm  the  somewhat  alienated  hearts  of  our  kin- 
dred across  the  water  towards  us,  and  thus  contribute 
to  allay  the  bitterness  of  international  jealousy,  and 
calm  the  waters  of  religious  strife.  Impressed  with 
these  considerations,  and  hoping  that  an  appeal  to 
the  churches  of  this  diocese  might  operate  in  strength- 
ening, even  without  our  borders,  the  deep  feeling  of 
sympathy  which  was  beginning  to  exhibit  itself,  and 
might  also  help  to  concentrate  and  systematize  efforts 
in  many  of  the  less  populous  districts,  I  issued  a  Pas- 
toral Letter,  on  the  7th  of  February,  to  the  Clergy 
and  Congregations  of  the  Diocese,  asking  them  to 
make  contributions  towards  the  relief  of  the  sufferers. 
The  appeal  was  nobly  responded  to,  and  that  response 
has  carried  the  warmest  emotions  of  gratitude  to  the 
hearts  of  multitudes  whom  we  shall  never  see,  while 
it  must  be  the  means  of  saving  hundreds  and  perhaps 


CHURCH   CHARITIES.  427 

thousands  of  valuable  lives.  In  addition  to  large 
sums  contributed  by  members  of  our  Church  in  this 
diocese  through  other  channels,  especially  through  the 
Relief  Committees  appointed  in  all  the  larger  towns, 
the  collections  made  in  a  portion  of  the  churches 
have  amounted  to  nearly  $9000  ($8612  33).  This 
amount  has  been  invested  in  corn  meal  by  the  gratui- 
tous agency  of  Messrs.  Thos.  Robins  and  Wm.  Welsh, 
and  has  been  consigned  to  the  care  of  Brown,  Shipley 
&  Co.,  Liverpool,  who  have  generously  declined  any 
compensation  for  their  services.  It  is  made  subject, 
three-fourths  of  it  to  the  order  of  the  Archbishops  of 
Armagh  and  Dublin,  for  the  use  of  the  Irish  poor, 
and  one-fourth  to  the  order  of  the  Primus  of  the 
Scotch  Church  and  of  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  for 
the  use  of  the  poor  of  Scotland.  This  disposition  of 
the  contributions  was  adopted  on  the  advice  of  the 
wardens  of  those  churches  in  Philadelphia  which  had 
contributed  to  the  fund,  it  being  their  opinion  that  it 
would  best  secure  what,  from  the  beginning,  had  been 
our  main  object,  the  administration  of  the  earliest  and 
largest  measure  of  relief.  In  writing  to  those  pre- 
lates informing  them  of  the  shipment,  I  expressed,  I 
am  sure,  but  their  own  desire,  as  well  as  the  united 
wish  of  my  advisers  and  myself,  when  I  requested 
that  the  supplies  should  be  distributed  among  the 
most  destitute,  without  reference  to  their  religious 
faith  or  profession. 

A  record  of  the  proceedings  of  the  meeting,  at 
which  the  wardens  of  the  city  churches  resolved  upon 
the  advice  just  referred  to,  and  a  statement  of  the 
Treasurer  of  the  Fund  of  the  moneys  received,  and 
the  expenditures  made  for  the  benefit  of  these  suf- 
ferers, accompany  this  address,  and  will  be  published 
in  the  appendix.  The  correspondence  with  the  Irish 
Archbishops  is  also  annexed. 


428  APPENDIX   XII. 


Copy  of  Letters  occasioned  by  a  transmission  of  Contributions  from 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Pennsylvania  to  the  Irish 
Poor. 

Tebasuey  Chambees, 
30th  April,  1847. 

Messrs.  Brown,  Shipley  &  Co.,  Liverpool. 

Gentlemen:  The  Lords  Commissioners  of  Her 
Majesty's  Treasury  having  had  under  consideration 
your  letter  of  the  28th  inst.,  inclosing  a  bill  of  lading, 
&c.,  of  600  barrels  of  Indian  corn  meal,  shipped  per 
"Monongahela,"  with  the  proceeds  of  money  sub- 
scribed by  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia  for  the  relief 
of  the  distress  in  Ireland  and  Scotland,  I  am  com- 
manded to  acquaint  you  that  my  Lords  will  be  pre- 
pared to  pay  the  freight  and  charges  on  the  Indian 
corn  meal  in  question,  on  receiving  a  statement  of 
the  amounts ;  and  on  being  informed  that  the  Arch- 
bishops of  Armagh  and  Dublin,  to  whom  the  meal  is 
consigned,  have  consented  to  take  charge  of  it  with 
a  view  to  its  gratuitous  distribution. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  C.  V.  Trevelyan. 

Per  Britannia* 
Thomas  Robins  and  William  Welsh,  Esqrs., 
Philadelphia. 

LiVEEPOOL,  May  1,  1847. 

Gentlemen  :  We  are  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of 
25tli  March,  inclosing  bill  of  lading  for  600  barrels 
of  corn  meal,  shipped  by  the  Monongahela,  for  the 
aid  of  the  Irish,  and  to  be  distributed  as  directed  by 
the  Lord  Primate  and  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin. 
The  Monongahela  has  arrived,  and  it  will  afford  us 
much  pleasure  to  receive  and  forward  the  same  free 
of  all  commissions.  We  have  made  application  to  the 
Lords  of  Her  Majesty's  Treasury  respecting  the  pay- 
ment of  the  freight,  and  herewith  we  send  a  copy  of 
their  reply.    The  Archbishops  of  Armagh  and  Dublin 


CHURCH   CHARITIES.  429 

have  arranged  for  the  distribution  of  the  meal,  which 
will  be  forwarded  to  Ireland  without  delay. 
Yours  respectfully, 

Brown,  Shipley  &  Co. 


I, — Bishop  Potter  to  the  Archbishops  of  the  Church 
in  Ireland, 

My  Lord — The  undersigned,  Bishop  of  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Church  in  Pennsylvania,  being 
deeply  impressed  with  the  tidings  of  famine  which 
have  reached  this  country  from  Ireland,  requested  the 
Clergy  under  his  charge  to  collect  from  their  respec- 
tive parishes,  contributions  for  the  relief  of  the  suf- 
ferers. The  request  has  been  promptly  and  cheer- 
fully complied  with.  In  addition  to  large  sums  which 
have  been  contributed  by  the  more  affluent  members 
of  the  Church  in  this  Diocese,  and  which  have  been 
forwarded  through  other  channels,  the  collections 
made  in  the  churches,  many  of  which  are  poor,  will 
amount  to  some  X1800.  Three-fourths  of  the  amount 
will  be  expended  in  bread-stuffs  (principally  corn 
meal),  and  will  be  placed,  in  equal  parts,  at  the  dis- 
posal of  your  Grace,  and  of  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin. 
It  goes  as  a  contribution  from  the  Episcopal  Church 
of  Pennsylvania,  to  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Ireland, 
well  known  as  a  generous  almoner,  for  the  poor  of 
every  name.  I  need  hardly  say  to  your  Grace,  that 
it  is  the  wish  of  the  donors  that  their  bounty  should 
be  distributed  among  the  most  necessitous,  without 
reference  to  their  creed  or  religious  profession. 

Trusting  you  will  excuse  us  for  the  trouble  we  are 
causing  you,  I  beg  you  to  believe  me, 
With  high  consideration, 

Your  Grace's  friend  and  servant, 

A.  Potter. 

Philadelphia,  March  30,  1847. 


430  APPENDIX   XII. 


II. — The  Archbishop  of  Armagh  to  Bishop  Potter. 

London,  April  24,  1847. 

Right  Rev.  Sin, — I  have  received  your  letter  of 
the  24th  of  March,  and  I  beg  you  to  accept  my  most 
grateful  thanks  for  the  generous  contribution  towards 
the  relief  of  the  destitute  poor  of  Ireland,  from  the 
Episcopal  Church  of  Pennsylvania,  and  I  have  to 
request  that  you  will  present  my  best  acknowledg- 
ments to  the  Clergy  of  your  Diocese,  and  to  their  con- 
gregations, not  only  for  the  very  liberal  assistance 
which  they  have  given,  but  also  for  the  brotherly  feel- 
ing which  they  have  manifested  towards  the  sufferers 
in  our  country.  In  the  midst  of  the  awful  calamity 
with  which  it  has  seemed  fit  to  Almighty  God  to  visit 
us,  it  has  indeed  cheered  our  hearts  to  find  that  even 
in  the  most  distant  lands,  we  have  fellow  Christians 
sympathizing  in  the  distress  of  our  afflicted  poor,  and 
ready  to  use  every  exertion  in  their  power,  to  aid  us 
in  providing  them  with  food. 

The  Clergymen  mentioned  in  the  memorandum  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Ogilby,  which  was  inclosed  in  your 
letter,  are  known  to  me,  some  of  them  personally — 
all  of  them  by  character,  and  none  could  have  been 
named  to  whom  I  should  with  more  confidence  intrust 
the  distribution  of  the  relief  which  you  have  for- 
warded :  they  are  not  only  persons  of  high  respec- 
tability, but  of  long-tried  experience,  benevolence,  and 
piety.  I  have  given  directions  to  my  man  of  business, 
to  request  Messrs.  Brown  and  Shipley,  of  Liverpool, 
to  forward  to  them  the  quantities  of  corn  meal  marked 
in  Mr.  Ogilby 's  paper.  The  remaining  100  barrels 
of  the  cargo  I  shall  have  sent  to  Dunstable,  in  the 
County  of  Louth,  to  be  transmitted  from  thence  to 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Campbell,  Rector  of  Forkhill,  the  Rev. 
Ed.  0.  Disney,  Rector  of  Newton  Hamilton,  and  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Atkinson,  Rector  of  Creggan — three  parishes 
situated  in  a  wild  range  of  mountains,  in  the  Diocese 
of  Armagh,  where  want  of  food,  and  in  consequence 


CHURCH   CHARITIES.  431 

of  it,  disease  has  reduced  the  people  to  extreme  dis- 
tress. Although  measures  have  been  adopted  by  our 
legislature,  for  providing  temporary  relief  for  the 
destitute,  they  have  not  as  yet  come  sufficiently  into 
operation  to  afford  the  assistance  of  which  they  stand 
in  need,  and  the  distress  in  many  districts  of  the 
country  is  of  a  most  urgent  kind,  so  that  the  valuable 
contribution  which  you  have  sent  is  truly  seasonable, 
and  will,  I  trust,  prove  the  means  of  alleviating  the 
sufferings  of  a  great  number  of  families.  In  the  efforts 
made  by  the  Parochial  Clergy  of  the  Established 
Church  to  relieve  their  distressed  parishioners,  no  dis- 
tinction has  been  made  on  the  ground  of  difference 
of  religious  profession,  and  your  wishes  on  this  sub- 
ject will  be  most  gladly  carried  into  effect.  Again 
thanking  you  for  the  aid  you'  have  sent  us,  and  for 
the  friendly  communication  in  which  you  have  in- 
formed me  of  it,  I  remain. 

With  much  respect,  your  faithful  servant, 

John  G.  Armagh. 


IIL — The  Archbishop  of  Dublin  to  Bishop  Potter. 

London,  April  29,  1847. 

Right  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir  : — I  have  just  received 
the  intelligence  of  the  arrival  at  Liverpool  of  the 
corn  meal  which  has  been  so  kindly  and  liberally  sent 
for  the  relief  of  the  distressed  people  of  Ireland.  The 
utmost  care  shall  be  taken  to  distribute  this  most 
welcome  and  seasonable  supply,  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  carry  into  effect,  as  far  as  possible,  the  benevolent 
intentions  of  the  donors.  To  you  and  the  rest  of 
them,  I  return,  in  behalf  of  the  suffering  poor,  my 
most  grateful  acknowledgments.  As  a  memorial, 
which  I  hope  will  be  a  lasting  one,  of  your  kindness 
and  of  our  gratitude,  I  shall  direct  a  parcel  of  books 
to  be  forwarded  to  you,  which  I  wish  to  be  considered 


432  APPENDIX  XII. 

as  the  property  of  yourself  and  your  successors  m 
office.     Believe  me  to  be 

Very  truly  yours, 

Richard  Whately, 

Archbishop  of  Dublin. 


(From  the  Address  of  1850.) 

I  have  reason  to  fear  that  the  Churchmen  of  Penn- 
sylvania are  doing  but  little  towards  the  circulation  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  without  note  or  comment,  a  work 
which  ought  ever  to  go  hand  in  hand  with  the  distri- 
bution of  our  Prayer-Books,  and  the  labors  of  our  mis- 
sionaries. As  we  have  no  institution  of  our  own  in 
whose  operations  this  work  has  a  prominent  place,  I 
would  follow  the  example  of  my  venerable  predecessor, 
Bishop  White,  in  commending  to  your  support  the  two 
societies  known  as  the  Philadelphia  and  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Bible  Societies.  Over  one  of  these  institutions 
Bishop  White  presided  till  his  death ;  and  I  cannot 
more  pertinently  express  my  own  views  than  in  lan- 
guage employed  by  him,  when  addressing  the  Conven- 
tion on  an  occasion  like  the  present.*  "  Although  the 
Bible  Society  of  this  city  is  not  peculiarly  attached 
to  our  communion,  yet  as  its  object  is  not  only  of  su- 
preme importance,  but  that  in  which  all  denominations 
of  Christians  agree,  and  as  it  contributes  its  share  to 
the  great  design  of  publishing  the  glad  tidings  of  sal- 
vation where  they  have  been  hitherto  unknown,  and 
of  depositing  the  record  of  them  in  the  hands  of  the 
destitute  in  all  countries  nominally  Christian,  it  has 
been  presented  to  the  notice  of  the  Conventions  for 
sundry  years  past,  and  under  the  continuance  of  this 
impression,  there  is  now  declared  a  deep  conviction  of 
the  importance  of  the  subject." 

Respecting  the  association  of  persons  of  different 
religious  denominations,  for  other  objects  connected 
with  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel,  such  as  the  cir- 
culation of  a  Christian  literature,  whether  for  adults 

*  See  Journal  of  the  Pennsylvania  Convention,  1822. 


CHURCH  CHARITIES.  433 

or  for  children,  I  feel  constrained,  both  by  reflection 
and  by  experience,  to  express  the  same  views  as  were 
held  by  the  same  venerated  man.  To  him,  it  seemed 
to  involve  a  stipulated  silence  respecting  certain 
principles  which  we  hold  to  be  scriptural  and  impor- 
tant— and  silence,  where  it  is  hardly  consistent  with 
the  full  discharge  of  our  duty.  His  apprehension, 
too,  that  such  associations  might  not  prove  friendly 
to  peace,  either  among  ourselves  or  with  those  around 
us,  has  been  verified,  I  fear,  at  least  to  some  extent, 
by  experience. 

In  conclusion,  I  cannot  but  congratulate  the  Con- 
vention on  the  improved  and  improving  condition  of 
the  diocese.  The  number  of  churches  is  increasing ; 
our  schools  are  doing  their  work  efficiently;  the 
meetings  of  the  clergy  in  district  Convocations  have 
been  followed  by  the  divine  blessing ;  the  confirma- 
tions during  the  past  year  have  been  materially  larger 
than  in  the  preceding  ;  there  is  a  better  attendance,  in 
many  parishes,  on  public  worship,  and  the  manner  of 
conducting  the  service  is  more  spirited  and  more  ex- 
actly conformed  to  the  requirements  of  the  Prayer- 
Book.  These  I  am  rejoiced  to  believe  are  but  indi- 
cations of  a  deeper  and  more  healthy  religious  feel- 
ing, which  implies  a  growing  sense  of  our  responsi- 
bilities in  respect  both  to  God  and  our  neighbor. 
When  I  state  that  in  a  few  parishes  in  this  city,  a 
sum  ranging  from  $50,000  to  $100,000  has  been 
paid  or  pledged  within  the  last  eight  months,  simply 
towards  the  removal  of  indebtedness,  and  that  several 
of  these  same  parishes  have  meanwhile  contributed 
liberally  towards  church  extension  in  this  county  and 
state,  and  even  beyond  their  borders,  I  find  in  this 
fact  a  reason  why  we  should  thank  God  and  take 
courage.  May  this  good  spirit  extend,  and  may  it 
be  accompanied  by  all  the  other  fruits  of  an  earnest 
and  steadfast  faith.  In  our  common  efi"orts  to  build 
up  the  kingdom  of  Christ  and  dispense  happiness 
among  all  for  whom  He  died,  may  we  reap  a  common 
reward.     May  our  hearts  be  drawn  together.     May 

37 


434  APPENDIX  XIII. 

our  views  of  divine  truth  gradually  be  assimilated; 
and  where  differences  of  opinion  are  inevitable,  there 
may  we  strive  after  the  charity  that  thinketh  no  evil, 
that  vaunteth  not  itself,  that  is  not  puffed  up,  but 
hopeth  all  things,  believeth  all  things,  endureth  all 
things.  Charity  alone  is  that  which  never  faileth. 
Now  we  see  through  a  glass,  darkly;  but  the  time  is 
coming,  when  all  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in 
sincerity  will  see  face  to  face.  Now  we  know  in 
part,  but  then  shall  we  know  even  as  also  we  are 
known.  And  now  abideth  faith,  hope,  charity,  these 
three,  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  charity. 


XIII. 

PEEVERSIONS   TO   ROME. 
(From  the  Address  of  1847.) 

It  has  been  my  melancholy  duty  to  record  the  dis- 
placement of  one  clergyman  of  this  diocese,  during 
the  last  year,  in  consequence  of  his  having  exchanged 
his  relations  to  this  Church  for  membership  in  the 
Church  of  Rome.  I  have  no  desire  to  indulge  in 
any  unkind  reflections  either  towards  him  or  towards 
the  religious  body  with  which  he  has  become  con- 
nected. To  their  own  Master  they  stand  or  fall. 
But  I  trust  I  may,  without  impropriety,  refer  to  this 
event  as  a  reason  for  renewing  my  dissuasive  from 
speculations,  which  though  begun,  sometimes,  in 
thoughtlessness,  and  sometimes  in  an  over  fond 
pursuit  of  what  calls  itself  Catholic,  is  but  too  apt  to 
terminate  in  rejecting  the  very  first  principles  of  true 
Catholicism.  I  rejoice  in  the  assurance  that  there 
is  in  this  diocese  a  prevailing  and  deep  feeling  of 
allegiance  to  the  Church  as  it  is,  in  its  liturgy,  its 
government,  and  its  articles.     This  allegiance  will 


PERVERSIONS  TO    ROME.  435 

continue  unimpaired,  and  will  grow  into  a  yet  more 
controlling  sentiment,  if  we  allow  the  provisions 
which  our  Church  has  made  for  the  edification  of  its 
members,  and  for  the  conversion  of  sinners,  to  work 
themselves  out  in  a  moderate  and  judicious  manner. 
At  such  a  time  we  must,  as  it  seems  to  me,  be  con- 
tent to  recognize  practically  the  broad  and  compre- 
hensive principles  on  which  the  Reformation  and  re- 
organization of  the  Anglican  Church  were  conducted, 
and  thus  be  tolerant  of  diversities  in  doctrine  and 
practice  which  have  always  prevailed,  and  which  are 
not  likely  to  disappear,  except  before  the  fires  of  a 
ruthless  intolerance.  We  must  recognize  also  that 
wise  reference,  as  well  to  the  principles  of  Scripture 
as  to  the  condition  and  institutions  of  our  own 
country,  which  governed  the  founders  of  our  American 
Church  in  their  revision  of  the  Prayer-Book,  and  in 
their  code  of  ecclesiastical  law.  We  must  be  willing 
to  leave  to  Churches  more  superstitious,  and  as  we 
believe,  less  pure, — usages,  which,  though  they  may 
have  the  sanction  of  antiquity,  are  inconsistent  with 
that  simplicity  which  we  have  been  taught  to  love ; 
or  which  having  been  made  directly  subservient  to  gross 
errors,  or,  having  become  inseparably  associated  with 
such  errors  in  the  minds  of  a  large  portion  of  the 
Christian  world,  were  on  that  account  wisely  laid 
aside  by  the  early  Reformers.  We  must  strive  after 
so  much  uniformity,  even  in  externals,  as  will  exhibit 
the  unity  and  decorum  of  our  system,  shunning  the 
extreme  of  pomp  and  pageantry  on  the  one  hand, 
and  of  slovenly  negligence  on  the  other.  We  must 
multiply  the  means  of  grace  in  public,  but  without 
withdrawing  our  people  from  the  indispensable  duties  of 
the  closet  and  of  the  family  altar.  We  must  encourage 
reverence  for  the  Sacraments,  but  not  at  the  expense 
of  reverence  for  that  ordinance  of  preaching  Christ 
and  him  crucified,  which  has  been  the  great  instru- 
ment of  winning  souls  to  God.  We  must  endeavor 
to  draw  deference  and  affectionate  regard  towards 
our  office  and  our  persons,  rather  by  our  zeal  and 


436  APPENDIX  XIII. 

eiigagcdness,  than  by  doubtful  theories  of  priestly 
authority.  We  must  be  willing  to  admit  the  indefeasi- 
ble right  to  think,  which  pertains  to  every  human 
being,  while  we  combine  with  the  admission  of  that 
right,  clear  views  of  the  fearful  responsibility  which 
attaches  to  all  who  wantonly  abuse  it.  We  must 
cultivate  gladly  in  our  people  the  disposition  for 
which  the  Apostle  commended  the  Berean  Christians, 
and  on  account  of  which  he  pronounced  them  noble — 
the  disposition  to  search  diligently  the  Scriptures  of 
eternal  truth,  and  to  search  them  that  they  may 
learn  whether  the  instructions  which  issue  from  our 
lips  are  in  conformity  with  the  mind  of  the  Spirit.  At 
the  same  time  we  must  endeavor  to  train  them  up  in 
a  dutiful  reverence  for  the  authority  and  requirements 
of  the  Church  to  which  they  belong,  and  urge  them 
constantly,  that  avoiding  foolish  and  unlearned  ques- 
tions, they  may  endeavor  to  give  full  effect  to  her 
admirable  provisions  for  the  training  of  the  young, 
and  for  the  instruction  and  improvement  of  their 
own  souls,  neglecting  none  of  her  clear  directions  for 
the  observance  of  the  greater  festivals,  for  the 
catechizing  of  children,  and  for  the  due  and  decent 
administration  of  her  worship  and  offices. 


(From  the  Address  of  1853.) 

In  our  chequered  lot,  unalloyed  prosperity  is  not 
to  be  expected,  and  by  those  who  consider  well  the 
exceeding  frailty  of  the  human  heart,  it  will  hardly 
be  desired.  Our  adversities  chasten  pride  and  self- 
confidence,  and  our  difficulties  stimulate  to  higher  ex- 
ertion. This  discipline  of  trial  is  not  withheld  from 
our  Church  in  these  days.  Both  in  our  own  and  in 
our  mother  Church,  there  is  much  to  excite  solici- 
tude, much  to  provoke  to  greater  faithfulness  in 
prayer,  to  more  of  humble,  self-sacrificing  labor. 
Questions,  which  agitate  the  Anglican  communion, 
transfer  themselves  quite  too  easily  to  this  country, 


PERVERSIONS   TO    ROME.  437 

and  hence  it  is  that  controversies,  which  in  that 
Church,  have  owed  much  of  their  recent  virulence  and 
depth  to  local  and  political  considerations,  have  been 
the  occasion,  in  this  country  and  in  our  communion, 
of  unnecessary  disturbance.  It  is  not  to  be  denied, 
however,  that  questions  touching  the  constitution  and 
working  of  the  Christian  Church  have  revived  every- 
where with  unwonted  power  in  these  times,  and  that 
they  demand  calm  and  wise  treatment.  They  have 
proved  too  unmanageable  for  some  of  our  former  as- 
sociates, who  have  sought  rest  from  the  vexing  storms 
of  doubt  and  controversy,  in  submission  to  a  power 
which  claims  to  be  the  infallible  expounder  of  doc- 
trine and  duty,  but  which  usually  relieves  perplexity 
by  extinguishing  freedom  of  thought.  These  perver- 
sions have  been  much  less  frequent  here  than  abroad, 
and  less  common  in  this  diocese,  I  am  glad  to  say, 
than  in  some  other  parts  of  our  American  Church. 
They  are  confined,  for  the  most  part,  to  the  clergy, 
and  are  to  be  regretted,  mainly,  as  indications  of  an 
unsound  temper  of  mind  and  habit  of  thinking  among 
a  portion  of  that  body. 

If  they  are  referred  to  now,  it  is  not  for  the  pur- 
pose of  denunciation.  These  misguided  brethren 
have  gone  out  from  us,  because  they  were  not  of  us, 
and  we  should  accept  their  departure  as  cheering 
proof  that  no  man  who  holds  anti-protestant  opinions 
can,  with  a  good  conscience,  remain  permanently  in 
our  fold.  Their  power  to  do  us  material  harm  ceases 
when  they  declare  themselves ;  and,  for  my  own  part, 
I  hold  them  in  much  higher  estimation  when  they 
manfully  meet  the  consequences  of  their  opinions, 
than  while  they  remain  repeating,  with  baited  breath, 
their  professions  of  allegiance,  and  insinuating  doc- 
trines, which,  till  lately,  no  one  supposed  could  be 
compatible  with  loyalty  to  a  reformed  communion. 
We  may  well  mourn,  however,  that  instead  of  accept- 
ing the  Reformation  as  a  blessing,  and  planting  them- 
selves on  the  liberty  and  the  simplicity  of  doctrine 
which  that  event  gave  back  to  the  Church,  men  of 

37* 


4^  APPENDIX   XIII. 

thoughtful  minds  and  devout  lives  can  be  found,  who 
pine  after  the  spiritual  bondage  and  the  superstitious 
worship  which  our  fathers  were  unable  to  bear.  One 
reason  is  to  be  found,  I  apprehend,  in  the  fact  that, 
in  our  age,  intellectual  activity  is  greatly  in  advance 
of  moral  earnestness,  and  the  consequences  are  seen  in 
fluctuations  of  opinion  and  in  a  restless  spirit  of  specu- 
lation, which  are  little  consistent  with  a  high-souled 
devotion  to  the  work  we  have  to  do.  In  religion,  too, 
as  elsewhere,  the  aesthetical  element  is  claiming  more 
consideration  than  properly  belongs  to  it,  and  sacred 
art,  instead  of  being  a  useful  auxiliary,  or  a  service- 
able handmaid,  is  too  often  exalted  into  a  tyrannical 
mistress.  At  such  a  time,  men,  weary  of  unexciting 
duties,  and  simple,  but  glorious  verities  of  the  faith, 
languish  after  a  pompous  ritual  and  a  sublimated 
but  sensuous  piety.  They  rebel  against  the  ordinance 
which  makes  faith  an  exercise  and  trial  of  the  moral 
nature,  by  surrounding  it  with  difficulties ;  and  they 
betake  themselves  to  a  superior,  who  arrogates  abso- 
lute supremacy  alike  over  intellect  and  over  con- 
science ;  or,  sad  to  tell,  they  are  too  frequently  borne 
by  a  critical  and  skeptical  spirit  to  question  the  claims 
of  all  positive  religion,  and  to  substitute  for  it  a  merely 
subjective  Christianity,  or  some  phase  of  blank  and 
cheerless  unbelief. 

What  is  the  remedy  for  this  disease  ?  So  far  as  it 
manifests  itself  in  a  medieval  or  Romeward  tendency, 
we  are  not  to  cure  it  where  it  exists,  or  prevent  its 
appearance  where  it  does  not,  by  defending  or  ex- 
tenuating the  mischief  so  long  as  the  pervert  remains 
in  the  Church  which  he  has  ceased  to  love,  and  over- 
whelming him  with  reproaches  the  instant  he  quits  it. 
The  earliest  approaches  to  an  insidious  will-worship 
and  a  disguised  Romanism,  should  be  guarded  against. 
Habits  of  thinking  and  speaking,  which  are  but  too 
prevalent,  in  which  the  Church  is  more  prominent 
than  her  Head  —  sacramental  grace  more  insisted 
upon  than  holiness  of  heart  and  life — zeal  for  shibbo- 
leth substituted  for  zeal  in  doing  and  suffering  God's 


PERVERSIONS   TO   ROME.  439 

will  —  outward  unity  put  before  fellowship  of  the 
spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace — the  liberty  wherewith 
Christ  has  made  us  free,  repudiated  for  a  bondage  to 
ordinances,  and  for  prostration  of  mind  and  soul 
before  some  imaginary  or  self-constituted  vicegerent 
of  Heaven ; — this  style  of  thinking  and  speaking  is 
often  the  unconscious  occasion  of  these  defections, 
and  against  it,  therefore,  we  ought  ever  to  watch. 
Should  grave  doubts  ever  seize  us  as  to  the  validity  of 
our  commission,  and  the  claims  of  the  Church  to  which 
we  belong — should  we  ever  come  to  hanker  after  the 
private  confessional  and  the  sacrament  of  penance — 
after  more  power  and  less  responsibility  for  the  clergy, 
and  more  responsibility  and  less  liberty  for  the  people 
— in  such  case,  we  should  know  that  we  are  in  immi- 
nent danger;  and,  if  ministers  of  the  sanctuary,  we 
should  forthwith  be  resolved  of  our  doubts  or  suspend 
our  ministrations.  To  doubt  is  not  necessarily  to  sin ; 
but  to  doubt  and  yet  eat,  to  hover  for  a  long  time 
between  two  such  systems  as  that  of  the  Papacy  and 
our  own,  and  then  to  pass,  in  a  single  day,  from  the 
most  sacred  offices  of  our  communion  to  the  obedience 
of  one  which  brands  her  with  anathemas,  and  casts 
her  relentlessly  out  of  the  pale  of  hope — this  is  a 
course,  which  no  sophistry  can  shelter  from  the  scorn 
of  good  and  honorable  men.  I  venerate  the  talents, 
learning  and  zeal  of  some  of  those  who  have  taken 
this  course  ;  but  neither  zeal,  learning  nor  talent, 
protects  men  from  the  gravest  errors  of  judgment 
and  the  sorest  derelictions  of  principle,  and  where 
such  gifts  are  combined  with  recreancy  to  virtue,  they 
only  merit  our  sterner  reprobation. 

On  the  other  hand,  let  us  not,  in  attempting  to 
shun  one  class  of  dangers,  expose  ourselves  to  another. 
They  greatly  mistake,  who  would  arrest  defections 
from  our  Church  by  discrediting  its  peculiarities. 
The  positive  institutions  of  Christianity  are  a  real 
and  a  most  essential  part  of  it.  So  long  as  we  pro- 
fess to  regard  these  institutions,  as  shaped  by  our 
communion,  to  be  Scriptural  and  edifying,  so  long  we 


44d  APPENDIX  XIII. 

are  bound  to  recommend  them  to  the  respect  and  ob- 
servance of  our  people.  The  inward  and  spiritual 
grace  is  not  to  be  implanted  and  strengthened,  in  or- 
dinary cases,  without  the  outward  and  visible  means ; 
and  it  is  surely  wiser  and  safer,  as  well  as  more  duti- 
ful, to  cling  to  means  which  are  appointed  of  God,  or 
directed  by  the  Church  to  which  we  have  pledged 
our  allegiance,  than  to  resort  to  others  of  our  own  in- 
vention. In  presence  of  such  grievous  defections,  as 
we  are  compelled  to  witness,  we  are  prone  to  think 
that  the  further  we  recede  from  that  which  probably 
occasioned  them,  the  nearer  we  approach  to  the  truth. 
Hence  these  events  are  apt  to  produce  their  opposites, 
and  we  have  the  unseemly  and  pernicious  spectacle  of 
two  opposite  currents  of  opinion  and  practice  setting 
violently  through  the  Church  at  the  same  time. 

At  such  a  juncture,  they  who  love  and  would  pro- 
mote the  principles  of  the  Reformation,  must  profit 
by  the  hard-earned  experience  of  that  period.  Perti- 
nacity in  pressing  points  of  doctrine  the  most  myste- 
rious and  unpractical,  with  stiffness  in  regard  to  cleri- 
cal dresses,  and  to  other  questions  of  observance 
equally  insignificant,  gradually  produced  in  our 
Mother  Church  a  reactionary  school  of  theology,  which 
soon  lost  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  English 
people,  and  helped  to  involve  throne  and  altar  in  one 
common  overthrow.  Zeal  for  truth  easily  degenerates 
into  intolerance ;  zeal  for  liberty  into  insubordination. 

The  times  call  for  reverence  towards  the  well-tried 
opinions  of  our  fathers,  and  towards  the  golden  mean 
which  they  adopted  in  doctrine  and  worship.  It  calls 
also  for  true  Christian  freedom,  in  so  adjusting  our 
preaching,  our  worship,  and  all  our  services,  as  best  to 
move  the  minds  with  which  we  are  called  to  deal. 
That  some  changes  might  be  made  in  our  services, 
especially  in  those  appointed  for  certain  seasons,  and 
in  the  Calendar  of  Lessons — that  larger  liberty  might, 
with  advantage,  be  accorded  to  the  clergy,  in  adapting 
their  ministrations  to  extraordinary  emergencies — and 
that  such  changes  need  touch  no  important  question 


PERVERSIONS   TO   ROME.  441 

of  faith  and  practice,  will  probably  be  admitted  by 
most  persons  who  have  considered  the  subject. 
What,  however,  is  most  needed,  is  a  frank  and  cor- 
dial working  out  of  the  spirit  of  the  Church,  in  all 
her  essential  elements  as  Evangelical  and  Catholic — 
as  combining  liberty  with  order — as  securing  spiri- 
tuality, through  the  faithful  use  of  instituted  means 
— in  one  word,  as  giving  to  the  Word  and  Sacra- 
ments, the  discipline  and  worship  of  the  Church — 
each  its  due  place  and  proportion.  He  does  little 
service  to  the  Gospel,  at  such  a  time,  who  faults  our 
usages,  who  ignores,  as  far  as  he  can,  the  time- 
honored,  commemorative  observances  of  the  Church, 
fomenting  suspicion  among  brethren,  and  swelling  the 
cry  of  indiscriminate  denunciation  against  all  who 
fail  to  adopt  a  similar  laxity  of  opinion  and  practice. 
If  it  shall  be  the  privilege  of  any  of  us  to  win  back 
to  the  simplicity  of  the  faith  minds  that  are  perplexed, 
it  will  be  theirs  who  combine  the  faithful  preaching 
of  Christ  with  unfailing  charity,  and  with  a  devout 
observance  of  all  those  means  which  the  Church  has 
established  for  the  conversion  of  sinners  and  the  edi- 
fication of  the  faithful. 

In  concluding,  let  me  remind  you,  brethren,  that 
the  times  call  for  action  more  than  for  disputation — 
for  prayer  more  than  for  recrimination.  As  against 
the  allurements  of  an  aspiring  Church  on  one  side, 
and  the  blandishments  of  a  subtle,  specious  skepticism, 
which  is  rapidly  undermining  the  faith  of  many,  on 
the  other — ^we  need  less  of  declamation,  less  of  vague 
denunciation,  but  more,  much  more,  of  faithful  study, 
of  kindly,  all-conquering  labor.  The  foes  with  whom 
we  are  called  to  contend,  cannot  be  outdone  in  raihng 
and  disputing ;  but  they  can  be  surpassed  in  diligence, 
in  knowledge,  in  meekness,  in  loving  and  untiring  zeal 
for  the  best  interests  of  men.  Says  an  ancient  apolo- 
gist (Justin  Martyr),  "  The  Lord  requires  of  us, 
through  the  might  of  patience  and  gentleness,  to  en- 
tice all  men  out  of  the  disgrace  of  their  corrupt  de- 
sires."    "  The  witness,"  adds  an   historian  of  the 


442  APPENDIX  XIII. 

early  Church,*  "  which  genuine  Christians  gave  of 
their  Lord,  through  their  conduct — the  healing  power 
of  the  Gospel,  which  revealed  itself  in  their  life,  was 
a  most  powerful  engine  in  the  conversion  of  the 
heathen."  We  live  in  an  age  of  active  beneficence, 
and  they  who  would  supersede  our  ecclesiastical  sys- 
tem by  another,  as  well  as  they  who  would  replace  all 
church  systems  by  one  self-constituted,  whether  with 
or  without  the  Bible — all  agree  in  this,  that  they  pro- 
mise to  abate  the  evils  of  life,  and  to  make  men 
happier  and  better  than  they  now  are.  At  such  a 
time,  it  surely  behooves  us  to  be  up  and  doing.  Ours 
must  be  no  holiday — no  mere  Sunday  religion.  It 
must  aim,  by  its  teaching  and  influence,  to  interpene- 
trate with  a  true  Christian  leaven,  all  the  callings 
and  relations  of  life.  It  must  breathe  into  us  a  large- 
hearted  charity,  which  has  a  tear  and  a  helping  hand 
for  every  form  of  suffering  and  sin.  It  must  seek  to 
regenerate  all  that  is  corrupt,  and  revivify  all  that  is 
effete  in  our  own  principles  and  practice,  and  in  the 
principles  and  practice  of  those  to  whom  we  minister. 
It  must  spread  over  our  daily  lives  the  sunshine  of 
love,  and  peace,  and  thankfulness  to  God.  It  must 
make  us  swift  to  hear,  slow  to  speak,  slow  to  wrath — 
reluctant  to  think  or  speak  evil  of  brethren,  and  dili- 
gent in  doing  good  to  all  men,  as  we  have  opportunity. 
When  Christians  lead  such  lives,  they  triumphantly 
vindicate  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  from  the  miscon- 
ceptions of  the  erring,  and  the  misrepresentations  of 
the  unfriendly.  When  churchmen  exhibit  their  devo- 
tion to  their  Church  by  such  labors  of  love,  and  such 
lives  of  sanctity,  they  need  fear  neither  the  violence 
nor  the  arts  of  the  most  unscrupulous  adversaries — 
for,  if  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ? 

*  Neander. 


NOTICE  OF  GENERAL  CONVENTIONS.     443 

XIV. 

NOTICE   OF   GENERAL    CONVENTIONS. 
'  (Of  the  Convention  of  1863,  from  the  Address  of  1856.) 

The  proceedings  of  the  General  Convention,  held 
in  New  York,  in  October  last,  are  likely  to  form  an 
era  in  our  ecclesiastical  experience.  Not  the  least 
noticeable  feature  in  its  deliberations  was  the  spirit 
of  frank  and  fraternal  co-operation  which  seemed  to 
prevail  through  all  its  sessions,  and  which  was  clouded 
by  few  of  those  signs  of  preconcerted  and  organized 
action,  which  sometimes  augur  much  better  for  the 
triumph  of  parties  than  for  the  success  of  great  prin- 
ciples. But  what  must  endear  that  Convention  still 
more  to  the  Catholic  Christian  and  philanthropist  is 
the  broad  sympathy  with  which  it  was  disposed  to  re- 
gard every  movement  that  seemed  to  promise  in- 
creased efficiency  to  our  Church,  in  her  grand  work 
of  saving  souls.  The  request,  from  the  House  of 
Clerical  and  Lay  Deputies,  that  the  Bishops  would 
prepare,  for  use  on  Missionary  and  like  occasions,  a 
form  of  prayer  for  the  increase  of  the  Holy  Ministry, 
according  to  the  command  of  Christ,  "  Pray  ye  the 
Lord  of  the  harvest  that  he  would  send  forth  laborers 
into  His  harvest" — the  profound  sense  of  past  delin- 
quencies which  was  expressed,  in  respect  to  the  pro- 
per support  of  the  Clergy,  and  the  inducing  of  pious 
and  properly  qualified  young  men  to  enter  the  minis- 
try— and  the  earnest  desire  universally  manifested 
that  our  Church  should  forthwith  greatly  enlarge  her 
means  of  dealing  with  the  ignorant  and  irreligious 
within  her  own  borders,  and  spread  her  blessings 
much  more  bountifully  over  the  heathen  world — these 
were  signs  of  spiritual  life  which  were  not  to  be  mis- 
taken, and  which  may  well  fill  our  hearts  with  grati- 
tude and  hope. 

In  addition  to  the  establishment  of  the  Episcopate 


444  APPENDIX  XIV. 

at  two  points  on  the  coast  of  the  Pacific,  three  other 
measures  were  adopted  which  are  likely  to  impress 
themselves  permanently  on  the  history  of  our  Ameri- 
can Church.  The  first  of  these  is,  a  Resolution  of 
the  House  of  Bishops,  referring  to  a  commission  of 
six  of  their  number,  a  Memorial  of  sundry  Presbyters, 
in  respect  to  the  present  position  and  working  capa- 
city of  the  Church.  That  memorial  earnestly  requests 
the  Bishops  to  consider  whether  some  means  may  not 
be  devised  to  enlarge  the  operations  of  our  commu- 
nion, to  adapt  her  better  to  the  peculiar  work  of  the 
Lord  in  this  age  and  land,  and  to  enable  her  to  aid 
more  efiectually  in  restoring  outward  unity  and  the 
spirit  of  true  brotherhood  among  those  who  name  the 
name  of  Christ.  No  graver  and  more  important  ques- 
tion could  possibly  be  presented  to  the  Fathers  of 
the  Church,  and  none  to  which  they  ought  to  address 
themselves  more  calmly,  more  patiently,  or  more 
prayerfully.  It  will  take  time  before  we  can  even 
measurably  grasp  its  magnitude.  Still  more  time 
may  be  necessary  before  some  good  men  will  recog- 
nize either  the  expediency  or  the  propriety  of  raising 
such  inquiries  ;  and  long  and  laborious  consideration 
will  be  necessary  before  any  great  and  wise  measure 
can  be  matured,  or,  being  matured,  can  be  commended 
to  the  confidence  and  good-will  of  the  Church  at  large. 
The  Spirit  that  presided  in  the  councils  of  the  blessed 
Apostles  could  alone  have  inclined  the  hearts  of  so 
large  a  portion  of  the  Bishops  to  look  kindly  on  this 
movement ;  and  it  ought  to  be  our  prayer  that  the 
same  Spirit  may  be  abundantly  vouchsafed,  until  a 
greater  and  more  efi'ectual  door  shall  be  opened  for 
us  to  the  hearts  of  men,  and  until,  as  a  Church,  we 
can  in  all  meekness,  and  yet  with  all  power,  become 
the  instrument  of  healing  those  grievous  wounds 
which  pride  and  error  have  inflicted  on  the  visible 
body  of  our  Lord. 

There  is  another  feature  in  the  action  of  our  last 
General  Convention  which  may  properly  be  regarded, 


NOTICE  OF  GENERAL  CONVENTIONS.     445 

as  it  seems  to  me,  with  less  of  complacency.  I  refer 
to  the  tendency  to  enlarge  more  and  more  the  action 
of  that  Convention,  to  the  exclusion  of  Diocesan  and 
voluntary  agencies.  It  was  manifested  both  in  what 
was  done  and  in  what  was  only  proposed.  Among 
the  Canons  and  joint  Resolutions  adopted,  are  two 
which  contemplate  vesting  in  the  General  Convention 
a  control  over  the  charities  of  the  Church  quite  be- 
yond any  which  has  been  proposed  hitherto.  In  the 
infancy  of  our  organization  as  a  national  Church,  one 
of  the  first  measures  adopted  was  the  division,  between 
the  Dioceses  interested,  of  a  Common  Fund  for  the 
relief  of  the  widows  and  orphans  of  clergymen  which, 
in  their  feebleness,  these  Dioceses  had  held  jointly. 
This  measure  has  always  commended  itself  to  my 
judgment  as  a  wise  one.  The  action  of  the  last  Con- 
vention looks  in  the  opposite  direction.  It  provides 
for  the  establishment  of  two  great  Central  Funds,  to 
be  dispensed  by  a  small  number  of  Trustees,  holding 
their  places  at  the  pleasure  of  the  General  Convention. 
One  of  these  is  a  Fund  for  Bishops  in  Missionary 
fields,  in  new  and  nascent  Dioceses,  and  in  regions 
where  the  Church  is  not  yet  organized.  The  other, 
instituted  by  a  joint  Resolution  which  intrusted  it  to 
the  charge  of  seven  Trustees  of  the  Diocese  of  New 
York,  is  a  Fund  for  aged  and  infirm  clergymen,  and 
for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  deceased  clergymen, 
throughout  the  whole  Church.  This  policy,  while 
it  seems  to  contemplate  a  reversal  of  that  which  pre- 
vailed in  1797,  is  a  material  advance  upon  the  one 
which,  in  1835,  disbanded  the  General  Missionary 
Society,  and  constituted  the  General  Convention  the 
Church's  organ  for  the  work  of  Missions. 

Few  dispassionate  persons  will  now  contend  that 
that  experiment  has  resulted  auspiciously  either  for 
the  Church  or  for  missions.  It  took  the  cause  from 
the  hands  of  those  who  loved  it,  and  who  were  drawn 
to  its  service  by  the  special  interest  they  felt  in  its 
success,  and  transferred  it  to  a  body  which  meets  but 
once  in  three  years,  which  then  assembles  for  a  dif- 

38 


446  APPENDIX  XIV. 

ferent  purpose,  and  which  does  its  proper  work  of 
legislation  imperfectly,  because  it  deliberates  in  great 
haste,  and  with  little  previous  preparation.  It  ig- 
nored one  of  the  fundamental,  and,  in  my  opinion, 
one  of  the  most  valuable,  features  of  the  American 
Church — its  voluntary  element,  whereby  individuals 
can,  by  spontaneous  association,  originate  movements 
which  contemplate  the  establishment  of  churches  and 
the  promotion  of  various  charities — those  movements 
being  subject  of  course  to  proper  scrutiny  from  the 
authorities  of  the  Church.  The  action  now  contem- 
plated is  obnoxious  to  the  further  objection  that  it 
proposes  to  centralize,  at  some  one  point,  a  vast  fund, 
which,  if  divided  between  several  local  centres,  might 
be  dispensed  with  a  much  better  knowledge  of  the 
wants  and  rightful  claims  of  those  interested.  It 
invests  a  small  number  of  individuals,  belonging  to 
that  grand  centre,  with  a  power  over  the  comfort  of 
Bishops  and  disabled  clergymen,  and  over  the  sensi- 
bilities of  pastors  who  anticipate  the  day  when  their 
families  may  be  bereft  of  their  presence  and  support, 
which  power  is  favorable  neither  to  happiness  nor  to 
personal  independence.  Too  often,  moreover,  elee- 
mosynary foundations  thus  established  at  a  distance, 
encourage  in  clergymen  expectations  of  relief  from 
abroad,  which  insensibly  weaken  the  ties  that  ought 
to  subsist  between  them  and  their  own  parishes  and 
dioceses,  while  they  relax  that  lofty  spirit  of  self- 
reliance  and  trust  in  God,  which  are,  after  all,  a 
clergyman's  best  resource.  Where  there  are  well- 
established  parishes,  they  should  not  be  tempted  to 
imagine  that  a  small  contribution  to  a  great  national 
fund  can  excuse  them  from  the  paramount  duty  of 
providing  not  only  for  their  minister  while  he  lives, 
or  is  capable  of  service,  but  also  for  those  who  are 
dependant  upon  him,  and  whose  claim  is  only  en- 
hanced by  his  death  or  disability.  The  Church  of 
the  Epiphany,  in  this  city,  in  raising  a  fund  of  nearly 
$10,000  for  the  family  of  its  late  rector,  has  mani- 
fested a  spirit  which,  if  properly  diffused  through  our 


NOTICE  OF  GENERAL  CONVENTIONS.     447 

church,  would  be  worth  to  the  clergy  many  times 
more  than  any  fund  which  the  General  Convention 
can  collect,  though  it  be  reckoned  by  millions.  In- 
deed, just  in  proportion  as  such  a  fund  gains  a  mam- 
moth size,  its  application  becomes  a  trust  too  delicate 
and  too  momentous  to  be  held  by  popular  deliberative 
bodies,  or  by  a  few  of  their  agents.  Voluntary  asso- 
ciations, with  corporate  powers,  would  appear,  on 
every  account,  a  safer  depository  for  such  trusts ;  and 
these  associations  ought  to  be  multiplied,  with  the 
extension  of  the  Church,  till  each  diocese,  or  each 
cluster  of  adjoining  dioceses,  has  its  own  provision 
for  the  purpose.  The  claims  of  missionaries  and  of 
pastors,  in  new  and  feeble  portions  of  the  Church, 
can  sometimes  be  met  by  institutions  already  esta- 
blished in  older  dioceses.  Where  this  is  not  the  case, 
some  general  provision  is  much  to  be  desired ;  and  if 
the  efforts  now  authorized  by  the  General  Conven- 
tion be  limited  to  such  instances,  and  be  regarded  as 
temporary  and  provisional,  they  may  well  command 
our  warmest  sympathy  and  co-operation.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  they  are  to  indicate  the  settled  policy  of 
the  Church,  and  of  the  General  Convention,  we  may, 
in  that  case,  apprehend  a  recurrence  of,  in  addition 
to  others,  those  difficulties,  not  less  serious,  which 
have  beset  our  missionary  operations,  especially  in 
the  domestic  field,  for  the  last  fifteen  years. 

I  shall  be  slow  to  urge  dioceses  to  scrutinize  closely 
the  extent  to  which  the  General  Convention  absorbs 
the  legislative  functions  of  the  Church.  The  analo- 
gies assumed  by  the  founders  of  our  general  church 
system,  between  it  and  the  Federal  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  are  not  exemplified  in  practice. 
The  subjects  on  which  dioceses  legislate  are  few  in 
number,  and,  for  the  most  part,  insignificant  in  cha- 
racter. But  moderate  discretion  is  exercised  by  them 
under  the  authority  of  law  even  within  their  own 
limits ;  and  that  discretion  was  narrowed  by  the  ac- 
tion of  the  last  General  Convention.  The  details  of 
our  worship,  our  government,  and  even  of  our  prac- 


448  APPENDIX   XIV. 

tical  beneficence,  are  in  the  way  of  being  arranged 
for  us  by  a  body  which,  in  attempting  to  legislate  for 
all  parts  of  a  vast  country  at  once,  must  necessarily 
overlook  the  peculiar  wants  and  capabilities  of  each 
different  section  of  it.  A  proposition  is  now  before 
the  General  Convention  to  establish  ecclesiastical 
provinces  and  authorize  provincial  councils ;  and  the 
time  is  evidently  not  distant  when  some  such  measure 
may  become  necessary.  When  that  time  arrives,  the 
proper  functions  of  the  General  Convention  will  re- 
quire to  be  more  clearly  defined,  and  the  proper 
powers  and  rights  of  dioceses  in  respect  to  legisla- 
tion, will  need  to  be  more  thoroughly  understood.  In 
the  early  stages  of  our  ecclesiastical  history,  union 
and  co-operation  were  so  important — the  individual 
dioceses  were  so  weak,  and  discord  and  anarchy  so 
imminent — that  a  central  power  to  organize,  com- 
bine, and  direct,  was  indispensable.  There  is  always 
a  tendency,  however,  to  transform  temporary  emer- 
gencies into  a  standing  necessity,  and  to  make  that  a 
ruling  and  all-absorbing  principle  which,  in  the  be- 
ginning, was  in  some  sense  but  a  provisional  expe- 
dient. The  union  of  our  churches  I  hold  to  be  an 
inestimable  blessing ;  but  it  will  be  permanent  and 
salutary,  just  in  proportion  as  the  central  powers 
vested  in  the  General  Convention  are  asserted  with 
moderation,  and  all  matters  which  can  be  best  regu- 
lated by  diocesan  or  provincial  action  remitted  to 
those  quarters.  I  make  these  remarks  now  because, 
most  happily,  our  ecclesiastical  sky  is  serene  and 
bright,  and  such  suggestions  are,  in  the  same  propor- 
tion, less  likely  to  be  misapprehended  or  perverted. 
No  one  will  be  more  prompt  than  myself  to  practise 
and  recommend  a  respectful  obedience  to  the  autho- 
rity of  the  General  Convention ;  but  such  obedience 
does  not  preclude  us  from  subjecting  particular  mea- 
sures, or  a  general  policy,  to  the  scrutiny  of  calm  and 
impartial  criticism,  since  it  is  only  through  such  criti- 
cism that  we  can  prepare  the  way  for  wiser  counsels. 
In  closing  this  address,  I  would  ask  you,  brethren, 


NOTICE  OF  GENERAL  CONVENTIONS.     449 

to  unite  with  me  in  unfeigned  gratitude  to  God  for 
the  blessing  which  he  has  vouchsafed  to  our  past 
efforts,  and  in  the  firm  determination  that  our  labors 
and  sacrifices  hereafter  shall  be  still  more  worthy  of 
His  acceptance.  The  future  which  is  before  us  in 
this  diocese  is  big  with  results  that  must  crown  us 
with  honor,  or  cover  us  with  shame.  Our  state  pos- 
sesses within  itself  the  elements  of  more  than  impe- 
rial greatness.  Those  elements  are  about  to  be  deve- 
loped with  a  rapidity  and  grandeur  for  which  few  of 
us  are  prepared.  The  next  ten  years  must,  in  all 
probability,  add  more  than  a  million  to  our  present 
population.  We  shall  then  have,  within  the  limits  of 
this  Commonwealth  alone,  more  people  than  all  that 
the  States  of  the  American  Union,  taken  collectively, 
contained  at  the  era  of  the  Revolution.  Are  we  pre- 
pared to  do  justice  to  the  rightful  claims  which  that 
population  will  have  upon  our  communion  ?  For  the 
souls  that  even  now  are  resident  within  the  geo- 
graphical limits  of  this  diocese,  are  we  doing  all  that 
we  might,  or  all  that  we  should  ?  In  the  presence  of 
such  spiritual  necessities,  existing  or  impending,  does 
it  become  us  to  appeal  to  the  Searcher  of  hearts  with 
feelings  of  self-complacency  ?  More  clergymen,  with 
ampler  endowments — more  enterprise,  and  a  more 
generous  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  on  the  part  of  Bishop, 
ministers,  and  people — more  District  Missionaries  to 
visit  the  scattered  members  of  our  flock,  to  build  up 
decayed  parishes,  and  to  organize  new  ones  as  God 
may  furnish  opportunity — arrangements  by  which 
lay-agency  can  be  employed  more  largely  in  extend- 
ing the  borders  of  the  Church,  and  giving  efficiency 
to  existing  parishes — Sunday-schools  more  thoroughly 
identified  with  parishes  and  with  our  Church  services, 
with  more  active  supervision  from  pastors  and  parents 
— greatly  increased  effort  in  behalf  of  education  in 
schools  of  every  grade  and  name,  whether  public  or  pri- 
vate— a  resolute  purpose  to  present  to  young  men  more 
attraction  in  our  Bible  classes  and  Public  Services 
and  other  parochial  operations,  and  to  supply  those 

38^ 


450  APPENDIX   XIV. 

of  them  who  are  without  immediate  supervision  from 
parents  with  all  the  guards  of  a  wakeful  but  judicious 
Christian  sympathy — a  greatly  increased  consecration 
of  our  pecuniary  gains  to  the  work  of  the  Lord ; — here 
are  means  plainly  indicated  to  us  by  the  finger  of 
Providence.  They  are  within  our  reach,  and  on  the 
humble  and  persevering  use  of  them  we  may  be  as- 
sured of  God's  abundant  blessing.  If  the  progress 
of  the  last  ten  years  has  been  full  of  encouragement, 
let  that  of  the  next  ten  demonstrate  that  we  are  ani- 
mated by  a  still  higher  enthusiasm,  and  are  bent  in- 
domitably on  nobler  results.  Let  our  supplications 
to  the  Lord  of  the  Harvest  never  be  wanting  that  He 
will  send  forth  more  laborers  into  His  harvest.  Let 
prayer  be  made  of  the  whole  Church  continually  for 
a  new  dispensation  of  zeal,  love,  and  self-devotion, 
that  all  our  people  may  labor  together  more  fervently 
as  with  one  mind  and  one  heart.  Let  us  see  to  it  that 
the  conscientious  and  open-handed  liberality,  which 
alone  can  make  it  safe,  keeps  pace  with  our  almost 
boundless  prosperity  in  material  pursuits.  And  never 
will  it  become  us  to  say  that  we  have  done  our  duty 
to  this  Church  of  our  affections,  till  she  shall  have 
vindicated  for  herself  her  true  position  as  the  best 
Benefactor  of  men  and  the  meekest  and  most  devoted 
of  the  servants  of  Christ. 


(Notice  of  the  Convention  of  1856,  from  the  Address  of  1857.) 

The  meeting  of  the  General  Convention  of  our 
Church,  which  took  place  in  this  city  in  October  last, 
deserves  some  notice.  The  opportunity  which  was 
afforded  to  those  of  our  people  who  reside  here,  to 
"use  hospitality"  was  handsomely  improved.  The 
members  assembled  from  all  parts  of  the  Union,  in 
the  midst  of  profound  political  and  sectional  agitation ; 
they  yet  conducted  their  deliberations  with  calmness 
and  dignity.  They  addressed  themselves  exclusively 
to  ecclesiastical  matters ;  and  in  what  was  done,  as 


NOTICE  OF  GENERAL  CONVENTIONS.     451 

■well  as  in  what  was  left  undone,  this  great  National 
Council  is  likely  to  rank  well  with  those  that  have 
preceded.  The  precise  boundary  that  ought  to  sepa- 
rate diocesan  and  general  powers,  presented — as 
under  such  a  system  as  ours,  it  often  must — some 
questions  for  serious  consideration.  On  a  correspond- 
ing occasion,  some  time  since,  I  expressed  my  con- 
viction that  diocesan  action  had  been,  in  some  re- 
spects, too  much  restricted  by  the  legislation  of  the 
General  Convention,  and  that  there  has  been  too 
much  disposition  to  concentrate  power  in  that  body. 
I  hold  that  opinion  still.  But  in  the  administration 
of  discipline  it  must,  I  think,  be  admitted  that  we 
need  some  provision  for  appeals  beyond  diocesan 
courts,  both  to  afford  remedy  in  cases  of  actual  in- 
justice, and  to  impart  unity  to  our  doctrine  and  dis- 
cipline. The  last  General  Convention  passed  one 
important  measure  looking  to  that  end,  and  others 
will  doubtless  follow  as  fast  as  they  are  greatly  needed. 
Meanwhile  everything  seems  to  counsel  to  abstinence 
in  respect  to  radical  changes — especially  such  as  con- 
template the  embarrassment  and  restriction  of  dio- 
cesan action.  Measures  are  easily  proposed,  but  to 
mature  them  with  a  fulness  and  breadth  adapted  to 
the  vast  and  diversified  wants  of  this  extended  coun- 
try, is  exceedingly  difficult ;  and  hence,  the  expe- 
diency of  remitting  to  dioceses  whatever  needs  special 
adaptation  to  its  local  or  other  necessities. 

In  the  House  of  Bishops,  the  Memorial  movement 
occupied  considerable  time,  and  was  disposed  of  in  a 
way  which  is  likely  to  give  satisfaction.  The  opinion 
expressed  by  the  bishops,  respecting  the  use  of  the 
Prayer-book,  under  certain  peculiar  circumstances, 
will  bear  its  fruits  gradually.  I  have  been  glad  to 
find  that  the  clergy  of  this  diocese  manifest  no  im- 
patient desire  to  make  changes,  and  that  they  are  not 
disposed  to  avail  themselves  even  of  an  admitted 
liberty,  when  it  will  be  the  occasion  of  discontent  or 
heart-burning  among  others.  Our  object  evidently 
should  be  to  make  the  several  offices  of  our  worship 


452  APPENDIX   XIV. 

more  and  more  loved  and  appreciated, — to  train  the 
children  in  each  parish  to  an  earlier  and  more  intelli- 
gent use  of  them,  and  to  have  more  constant  reference 
to  our  church  year  in  preaching  and  catechizing. 
These  objects  being  kept  steadily  before  us,  all  such 
liberties  as  are  consistent  with  law,  and  made  expe- 
dient by  emergencies  which  must  vary  in  different 
parts  of  the  country,  and  in  the  case  of  different  in- 
dividual ministers  or  congregations,  will  be  enjoyed, 
and  yet  our  liturgy  only  be  raised  the  more  in  gene- 
ral estimation,  and  in  the  affections  of  our  own  peo- 
ple. Should  this  course  be  pursued,  the  time  will 
come  when,  without  discord  or  confusion,  admitted 
defects  in  the  Pray  er-Book  itself  may  be  supplied,  and 
more  amplitude  and  variety  be  given  to  our  ritual. 
The  occasional  'prayers  and  thanksgivings  proposed 
by  the  Convention  to  be  added  to  those  we  now  have, 
were  reached  too  late  in  the  session  to  be  considered. 
They  will  be  likely  to  come  up  at  the  General  Con- 
vention of  1859.  Meanwhile,  some  of  them  are  so 
much  needed,  that  I  shall  authorize  the  use  of  them 
in  this  diocese.  It  may  not  be  improper  to  add  that 
the  Report  on  the  Memorial,  with  various  papers,  in 
which  the  subjects  raised  by  it  have  been  ably  dis- 
cussed by  some  of  our  elder  clergy,  and  by  others, 
have  been  collected  into  a  volume  entitled  Memorial 
Papers.  Some  of  them  are  so  rich  in  suggestions 
respecting  a  clergyman's  work,  in  teaching,  pastoral 
care,  and  missionary  labor,  that  they  deserve  to  be 
studied. 

In  respect  to  Qhurch  Unity,  the  deliberations  of 
the  bishops  resulted  in  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mittee of  five  of  their  number,  to  be  entitled  the  Com- 
mission on  Church  Unity,  thus  indicating  their  sense 
of  the  desirableness  of  more  union  among  Christians, 
pledging  their  willingness  to  communicate  or  receive 
information  tending  to  that  end,  and  providing  an 
organ  of  communication  or  conference  for  this  express 
purpose.  The  appointment  has  led  already  to  some 
useful  discussion,  and  may,  through  the  Divine  bless- 


NOTICE  OF  GENERAL  CONVENTIONS.     453 

ing,  help  at  least  to  more  kindly  relations  among 
those  who  name  the  name  of  Christ,  if  not  to  ulti- 
mate fusion  or  intercommunion.  The  distracted  con- 
dition of  American  Christendom — to  say  nothing  of 
it  elsewhere — is  certainly  a  calamity  and  a  reproach, 
and  one  that  through  God's  blessing,  seems  to  be 
more  widely  felt  than  it  once  was,  and  more  sincerely 
deplored.  The  existence  of  this  commission  will  serve 
as  the  earnest  protest  of  the  Bishops  of  our  Church 
against  it,  and  as  clear  evidence  of  their  desire  to  be 
instrumental  in  abating  it — only  through  fraternal 
conference,  and  without  infringing  on  the  rights,  or 
wounding  needlessly  the  sensibilities,  of  any.  Little, 
however,  can  be  hoped  from  our  agency  as  peace- 
makers in  the  Christian  world  at  large,  unless  we  can 
point  at  home  to  a  house  with  substantial  as  well  as 
nominal  unity — to  brethren  who  delight,  as  brethren, 
to  dwell  together  in  the  unity  of  the  spirit  and  the 
bond  of  peace.  There  is  among  our  clergy  so  much 
substantial  agreement,  and  so  little  even  of  unimpor- 
tant differences  among  our  laity,  that  continued  strife 
and  recrimination  would  be  alike  gratuitous  and  sui- 
cidal. Let  us,  then,  pray  more  and  more  for  the 
feace  of  Jerusalem,  Let  our  strife  be  who  shall  most 
advance  the  things  that  make  for  peace.  Whatever 
breeds  mutual  distrust  or  tends  to  animosities,  let  us 
discountenance.  In  respect  to  real  or  supposed  evil 
or  error  in  others,  let  us  be  slow  to  speak,  and  slower 
still  to  wrath.  Let  us  endeavor  to  recognize  and 
honor  all  the  good  we  can  find  in  those  who  are 
honestly  working  for  souls,  and  if  there  are  those 
who  will  not  abstain  from  evil  speaking,  whose  ele- 
menf~is  discontent,  and  contention,  and  change,  let 
us  leave  them  to  their  ignoble  and  unenviable  work, 
with  the  prayer  that  God  will  give  them  repentance 
and  better  minds.   - 


0.  8HEBMAN  b  SON,   PRINTERS. 


or  THR 

UriTBESITT] 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

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23Wov>5fifl?y 


RETURNED  TO 


MAY       ^   195T 
,lnY  1     1977 — 


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LD  21-100m-6,'56 
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